A Scottish Government report has announced that a business delegation to COP28, is expected to generate £66.7 million in net zero export sales.
The group was the first ever ‘tech cluster’ the Scottish Government has taken to the yearly global climate conference, and it attended a programme of business activities in Dubai last year.
Of these companies, 14 reported forecast export sales of £66.74 million over three years, with three already reporting business won due to their participation. 94% of the delegation also stated they found the programme valuable, with 545 new contacts made.
The figure was announced in the COP28 Outcomes report.
Net Zero Secretary Màiri McAllan welcomed the findings, saying: “The business delegation helped to showcase Scotland’s net zero ambitions on a global stage, in renewable energy and other key areas of interest, and demonstrated that Scotland is best placed to attract vital investment into our net zero industries, particularly in the North East.
But who are these companies? And how are they transforming the path to net zero? The list of 19 that attended the summit in Dubai included carbon capture developers, satellite companies, a bioproduct pioneer and a solar flat-pack firm.
The digital and space race
Satellite and digital technologies offer key answers to how we monitor problems or find solutions on the path to net zero. COP28 delegate Digital Content Analysis (D-CAT) uses satellite imagery for a range of applications including predicting crop yield and detecting forest fires and deforestation.
Glasgow-based Krucial recently announced it had secured a European Space Agency contract to work on the development of a cutting-edge water-resilience monitoring and analysis tool to tackle global water stress.
On the announcement of the deal, Allan Cannon, co-founder and CEO, said: “This project has the potential to improve the lives of billions of people, using the latest space and analytics technology to benefit water basins across every corner of the globe by enabling data-led interventions and practices.”
Carbon capture and storage
Several of the key companies that attended COP28 were involved in the development of carbon capture - a key technology for global net zero plans around which there is still a great deal of doubt.
One of these was Storegga, the lead developer of the Acorn project, which was last year granted 'Track 2' status by the UK government – meaning it would be eligible for funding from a £1bn pot as long as it is operational by 2030.
The Acorn Project aims to capture 5.6 million tonnes of CO2 a year from gas terminals at Peterhead by 2030 – with an aim to increase that ultimately to 20 million. Storegga plans to inject compressed CO2 into reservoirs under the North Sea.
The company's website describes these as “secure, monitored geological formations often within or adjacent to sites from which carbon in the form of oil, gas or coal was held for millions of years – essentially putting the CO2 back where it came from.”
Earlier this year, Abu Dhabi National Oil Company acquired a 10.1 percent stake in the company. Last month Exxon Mobil signed a memorandum of understanding to participate in the Acorn Project.
READ MORE: COP28, the key questions and what it means for Scotland
READ MORE: 'Gaping chasm' in climate plan after carbon capture hopes downgraded
READ MORE: Carbon cluster plan to provide Aberdeen jobs boost
Another company working in carbon capture was CCU International, whose aim is to create systems that can convert carbon dioxide emissions into everyday consumer products.
It recently announced that it had developed a new refinement and capture system which will be used at the Holmen Iggesund Paperboard Mill in Cumbria. The plan is that the carbon harvested from the chimneys at the site will be used for the production of detergents and other consumer goods.
The company described the project as “a significant step towards potentially reducing the reliance on oil and gas extraction for consumer goods (and other chemistry-based products) manufacturing.”
Fantastic with plastic
Other companies are being creative with materials. One of these, Reventas, Who are Scottish net-zero companies set to make £70 million export sales? has created ground-breaking technology to tackle plastic waste. The technique purifies and removes plastic waste of all contaminants allowing the creation of an “ultra-pure virgin like plastic”.
Power from the sun
Solar innovation was also represented at COP28. Among the Scottish companies was Aquatera, an Orkney firm which has helped build a solar-powered version of the traditional “banca” boats used in the Philippines, which traditionally would have been powered by diesel engine.
Dundee-based SolarisKit has created a flat-pack solar kit, designed to help heat water in some of the world’s poorest countries. Earlier this year the solar technology, which has already been installed in Rwanda and Ghana, was installed at a first commercial site in Kenya, an affordable housing project.
Hydrogen vehicle pioneers
A hydrogen technology company was also among the COP28 group. Hydrogen Vehicle Solutions recently tested a hydrogen truck pulling its first trailer, its plan to create the technoloyg for hydrogen fuel cell based heavy good vehicle operations. These would emit “only water” from the tailpipe.
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