Empower Cymru to realise its potential & make a significant contribution to the UK’s economic growth ambition

Ben Burggraaf, Chief Executive Officer at Net Zero Industry Wales, outlines how Wales can play an important role in driving growth and decarbonisation for the UK. 

In October last year, the UK Government launched its Green Paper titled: “Invest 2035, the UK’s Modern Industrial Strategy” — which sets out its plan to deliver the certainty and stability that businesses need to invest in the UK and deliver the UK Government’s growth ambitions.

However, the green paper doesn’t recognise or identify a role for Wales, despite the fact that the manufacturing and energy sectors in Wales contribute to ~20% of the nation’s Gross Value Added (GVA), which is well above the UK average. Beyond its economic impact, Welsh manufacturing and its energy sector contributes up to 50% of the nation’s carbon footprint and up to 20% of the UK total emissions for these sectors.

Too often, we look back and seek to prevent our past mistakes, rather than focusing on what we want for our communities to thrive — both now and in the future.

The Wellbeing of Future Generations Act gives us a clear framework for what Wales wants to achieve. It provides our North Star and we can use the Act to set out a clear vision for Wales — a vision that articulates what we want to achieve, how we will get there and the role Wales plays in the wider UK Industrial Strategy.

To aid the development of this vision, Net Zero Industry Wales (NZIW) has defined, with input from the private & public sector, a clear role for the manufacturing and energy sectors in Wales, within the UK industrial strategy, which is:

“Be a leading clean energy transition hub and a cornerstone of the UK industrial base”

The role and associated delivery strategy, is based on the SWIC and NEWID cluster plans, supplemented by the projects that are developed within Wales’ renewables sector.

It outlines three strategic goals:

1. “Clean Energy Industries” – Generate an abundant source of local, low carbon energy that in the long term predominantly uses Wales’ abundant natural resources, supplemented by energy that has been produced using fossil fuels (abated, where possible).
2. “Energy infrastructure” – Build the infrastructure needed to transport & distribute the low carbon energy produced, to connect the energy generators with energy consumers in Wales.
3. “Foundation Industries & advanced manufacturing” – Retain and grow Welsh industry by supporting their investment in decarbonisation technologies — allowing industry to transition to net zero, benefit from the low carbon energy that is produced in Wales and gain global competitiveness.

There needs to be a recognition that to achieve these ambitious goals, it will require an unprecedented level of private sector investment, new ways of thinking & working, and collaboration between the public & private sector. In other words, all stakeholders have a role to play in realising Wales’s potential and this strategy provides the catalyst and framework on which we can build.

I strongly believe that a solid and detailed strategic plan has been shaped, that can deliver the outlined goals. This plan not only halts the further de-industrialisation of Wales, but attracts the inward investment needed for the economy to grow sustainably.

More about this strategic plan

The plan outlines 13 strategies and over 20 anchor projects that have a relatively high, but varying level of maturity. They all have the ability to reach financial investment decisions within the next three years and make a significant positive economic & social impact within the next five-10 years, if not sooner.

The investment value of the projects exceeds £36 billion and is primarily driven by the 1^st strategic goal (Clean Energy Industries) which unlocks a Gross Value Add (GVA) impact of £289.6 billon over a 25 year horizon, including preserving £46 billion of economic value associated with the foundation industry and advanced manufacturing sectors, according to a recent economic impact assessment[1].

To unlock this significant level of investment and the associated economic impact, three urgent interventions have been identified. These are:

• Non-Pipeline-Transport of CO2 (shipping) – Kickstart the industrial decarbonisation of South Wales by allowing non-pipeline connected Carbon Capture & Storage projects to bid for CO2 business model support.
• Floating Offshore Wind (FLOW) – Anchoring the “once in a lifetime” economic growth opportunity to Wales by granting Contracts for Difference (CfD) support for Test & Demonstrator projects and developing the ports to assemble & manufacture the FLOW structures.
• North to South Wales electricity transmission interconnector (PSNC) — unlock the significant onshore wind pipeline and an additional 12 GW of FLOW capacity by accelerating the development of the PSNC project and commence construction of the interconnector within the current price review period (RIIO-T3).

Wales needs to be more assertive in securing UK Government support on these identified interventions. Currently, we are not receiving our fair share of funding that is made available by the UK Treasury to support the transition to Net Zero across the UK.

Wales has a higher per capita carbon footprint and higher levels of deprivation than other parts of the UK, meaning we need greater than per capita support to transition successfully and do it in a “Just” way.

Wales is a small, connected nation and with that comes real strength, opportunity. As a nation we have an opportunity to be bolder, more confident, more vocal, and more determined in securing the private & public sector investment we need, and empower us to deliver its potential.

Let’s put our strong strategic plan & economic case forward to Westminster, using a “Team Wales” approach and generate a positive economic impact that is more than the sum of its parts.

Wales needs to be much more confident in making its case for this public sector investment, to unlock the private sector investment needed for it to prosper & thrive. It’s not about asking for special treatment — it is about ensuring that Wales gets the funding it needs and deserves, to realise its potential & drive the transformational change needed to deliver a Just Transition.

Now, is the time to make our case, be more ambitious and ensure that Wales leads the way in delivering the UK Government’s Growth Mission — making best use of the devolved powers that Wales has and bringing us a step closer to achieving Wales’s well-being goals.

[1] “Economic assessment of Net Zero anchor projects in Wales, a Net Zero Industry Wales Report”, March 2025