New community formed to promote AI for industrial decarbonisation

Innovate UK Business Connect has joined the Industrial Decarbonisation AI Coalition (IDAIC) as secretariat to convene the group, facilitate outreach and promotion, and coordinate the coalition’s activity and impact. The Coalition is spearheaded by Nexus Climate and Cleantech for UK. Other inaugural members include:

• Make UK
• The World Cement Association
• Liberty Steel
• IDRIC – The Industrial Decarbonisation Research & Innovation Centre
• The International Research Centre on Artificial Intelligence under the auspices of UNESCO
• Carbon Re
• A3&Co

Promoting AI to aid decarbonisation

There’s been a dramatic rise in the use of AI across different industries in recent years and its vast potential is now widely recognised, but its potential in industrial decarbonisation applications is yet to be fulfilled.

AI can optimise energy consumption, improve the efficiency of renewable energy systems, and enhance grid management. AI algorithms can predict energy demand and supply, facilitating better integration of renewable sources. AI can also help in the discovery of new materials, for example, for more efficient solar panels and batteries, and the design of materials with lower environmental impact.

Other opportunities include AI-powered analytics which could identify inefficiencies in industrial processes and suggest improvements, thereby reducing emissions. By enabling smarter, data-driven decisions, AI supports the transition to a low-carbon economy.

The IDAIC has been launched to encourage businesses to apply multi-disciplinary knowledge, allowing the use of advanced R&D and industry collaboration to develop AI tools to solve problems hindering industrial decarbonisation.

There are significant, but surmountable barriers that the coalition aims to solve, including: the availability of well-curated large datasets for open and collaborative R&D, and the need for cross-disciplinary R&D bringing together expertise in AI, materials, chemistry, physics and industrial processes.

Perspectives from the IDAIC team

We believe the UK is in a prime position to grasp this opportunity and become the global leader in AI for industrial decarbonisation. We have some of the best materials and engineering research base in the world, combined with one of the top AI and machine learning ecosystems globally.

IDAIC’s initial focus will be on education, awareness and identifying sectoral opportunities. Ultimately the coalition aims to promote novel R&D and solutions development in the areas of AI for industrial processing and materials discovery.

Sherif Elsayed-Ali, co-founder of Nexus Climate

The collaboration between industry leaders and AI experts through IDAIC will be pivotal in accelerating the transition to sustainable industrial practices. We are excited to see the innovative breakthroughs that will emerge from this initiative.

Sarah Mackintosh, Director of Cleantech for UK

Industry has consistently driven social, economic, and political shifts, and AI integration in factories holds the potential for transformative progress, particularly in decarbonising processes and production. There remains a perception amongst some manufacturers that cutting-edge technology like AI is something only larger manufacturers need to consider. The IDAIC will be at the forefront of demystifying AI in manufacturing, whilst shining a light on common barriers so that all of industry can benefit.

Faye Skelton, Head of Policy at Make UK

There is great potential for AI to accelerate industrial decarbonisation whilst achieving economic opportunity. In the short term, AI can improve production efficiencies for large volume manufacture of essential materials to reduce emissions at source.

In the longer term, emerging applications for AI include the discovery and design of materials to reduce environmental impact from the outset. The UK is a hotbed of AI research and innovation for industrial applications and is well poised to be at forefront of realising the huge opportunity it presents.

Christopher Pilgrim, Knowledge Transfer Manager, Innovate UK Business Connect

Learn more about the IDAIC

The coalition is open to manufacturers and industrial producers as well as startups and research organisations working at the intersection of AI and industrial decarbonisation. For membership enquiries and any further information, please contact info@idaic.org