What is the North East Energy Catalyst?

A ground-breaking partnership to unite the North East’s leading energy innovation, demonstration and delivery capabilities.

Mission

To catalyse an integrated energy system, which grows a productive, clean economy for communities across the globe.

Vision

To develop and showcase solutions to global energy challenges via innovation, demonstration and delivery.


The North East is home to a unique and comprehensive asset base for innovating, demonstrating and delivering solutions to global energy challenges. It also hosts a highly innovative industry base, at the cutting edge of developing and commercialising these solutions, and already supplying into the sector.

Facilitated by the North East Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP), partners including industry, the public sector, universities, institutions and government bodies are working together to unite this range of opportunities and to:

  • Tackle major energy challenges and deliver on national policy
  • Drive new economic growth opportunities
  • Accelerate regional decarbonisation
  • Invite and co-ordinate engagement with partners

Who we are

The North East Energy Catalyst is made up of key partners from across the region.

Find out more

Our region’s assets

Our region is home to a host of exciting and ground-breaking test and demonstration facilities helping to bring new energy solutions to the market. Our test and demonstration specialities lie in Heat, Materials, Power, Systems and Transport. 

Use the map and filters below to find out more about our region’s assets or see a full list here.

Transport Map Icon Systems Map Icon Materials Map Icon Heat Map Icon Energy Map Icon

North East Future Energy Systems Today (North East FEST)

The North East Energy Catalyst has identified three central challenges which will deliver on our vision. These are global energy challenges which require continuing innovation and rapid deployment of solutions at scale:

  • Maximising the deployment and life cycle value of low carbon power
  • Commercialising and deploying scaled pathways to decarbonise heat
  • Industrialising and mainstreaming the technology to decarbonise transport

We are tackling these challenges through a programme of projects we call our North East ‘Future Energy System Today’ programme (North East FEST). The programme will work to deliver large-scale solutions to these global energy challenges through innovation and demonstration and aims to drive growth in the North East. By sharing our learning to accelerate wider change we will help catalyse the creation of global markets in sectors of opportunity for both our region and the wider UK.

Building on our extensive existing asset base and programmes, we are continually developing a programme prospectus for North East FEST, for which we are seeking collaborators, sponsors and funders for projects.

Within this prospectus are a range of crucial project opportunities which we have identified and collaboratively developed to tackle our Catalysing Change Challenges.

These opportunities will unlock, at greater pace and scale, the potential of the North East to act as a catalyst region and deliver a Future Energy System Today, unlocking global markets for industry, delivering on the UK’s decarbonisation goals, and driving levelling up in the North East.

Download the brochure to learn more about North East FEST:


Programmes

The North East Energy Catalyst is involved in several projects to help bring forward solutions to global energy challenges.  These include:

The Energy Innovation Challenge is working with businesses in our region to develop new products and services that could help to tackle some of the energy-related challenges the world is facing, and to support them to bring their ideas to market.

The initial rounds of the programme have been undertaken with challenges covering decentralised and decarbonised energy, data or digital-led solutions that can help businesses to track energy consumption and looking at new ways of using materials to reduce costs, improve efficiency, or bring other benefits to energy infrastructure.

Case studies of SMEs involved in the programme include:

Learn more about the Energy Innovation Challenge Programme – download the brochure:


Funding opportunities

The North East Energy Catalyst runs regular challenges, inviting SMEs across the region to work with us on projects to look at new solutions to energy problems. 

Latest Energy news

White paper calls for acceleration of geothermal energy projects in the UK

A new white paper of national importance has been published today (Monday 17 July) providing evidence for the acceleration, development and deployment of deep geothermal…

Decarbonising homes set to bring tens of thousands of skilled roles to North East and Yorkshire

A new study has shown that up to 80,000 skilled workers will be needed in the North East and Yorkshire if the UK is to…

The Sustainable, Smart Port.

Port of Tyne to demonstrate blueprint for decarbonisation of UK ports The Port of Tyne will unveil a new sustainable smart port platform that will…

Key takeaways from the North East Energy Catalyst Summit

“This region is unique. We have everything. The challenge for us as a region is how to take that gift and grow it and multiply…

Port of Tyne and Equinor announced as new North East Energy Catalyst partners

The Port of Tyne and Equinor have been announced as partners in the North East Energy Catalyst network. The two companies joined the ground-breaking partnership…

Supporting Community Energy in the North East

A new report, commissioned by the North East LEP in partnership with the North of Tyne Combined Authority, Durham County Council and South Tyneside Council,…

Andrew Clark, Energy Lead at the North East Local Enterprise Partnership, on the publication of the Green Jobs Taskforce report

In November 2020, government published its ambitious ten point plan for a green industrial revolution in the UK. Focused on increasing ambition in emerging and…

Energy Minister visits projects putting North East at the forefront of Net Zero drive

As the North East is poised to become the UK’s first low carbon heat cluster, the government’s Minister for Business, Energy and Corporate Responsibility, Lord…

Research into the North East Offshore Wind Supply Chain reveals jobs opportunity

In conversation with Andrew Clark, Energy Lead at the North East LEP A study commissioned by the North East LEP, and delivered by Cambridge Econometrics…