M-SParc is a key part of the low carbon focus of North Wales, linking to exciting developments taking place on the ‘Energy Island’ of Anglesey, and across North Wales. We are the buzz at the centre of this activity, placing ourselves and our tenant companies at the heart of new and exciting developments.
The Egni team was established in 2021 to provide specialist support in the low carbon sector and to take advantage of the wide range of opportunities in this sector across North Wales. The team work across a range of projects from supporting the offshore wind sector to new nuclear, from advising companies on how to reduce their carbon footprint to planning how to reach net zero by 2030! The Egni team are passionate about creating a more sustainable Wales by helping the environment and ensuring we all reach our net zero commitments and by creating new exciting opportunities across the low carbon sector in north Wales.
Debbie gained her PhD in Nuclear Chemistry from the University of Manchester in 2016 after which she spent 3 months working for Hitachi Research Labs in Japan. Since returning to North Wales, Debbie has worked as a project manger for Bangor University across the Low Carbon Sector.
Debbie is passionate about Low Carbon Energy and how local developments and opportunities in this sector can help both the environment, the local businesses and community.
Rhodri Daniel is a member of the Low Carbon team at M-SParc, supporting new developments within the region, stimulating the green economy and its wider supply chain. He has an MSc in Chemistry from the University of Bristol, and has spent 10 years in academia and industry (apart from a three-year stint touring the world in a rock band!). Rhodri has extensive experience in leading projects, with a particular focus on the low carbon sector, and brings excellent project management and bid-writing skills to the team.
We have academic links to hydrogen storage expertise through the ‘Materials Energy Research Lab in Nuclear’ at Bangor University’s Nuclear Futures Institute.
M-SParc has links to a number of Research and Innovation opportunities relating to efficiency of solar power.
There are so MANY options to invest in renewable technology or sustainability developments. This will help with cutting energy bills and increase your environmental credentials.
This is becoming increasingly available through a myriad of funding schemes.
In this webinar will be taking a deep dive into the world of Green Finance!
A Carbon Footprint is a method of calculating the carbon emissions of a product or service. This includes the direct emissions from fossil fuels, the electricity used to power buildings and the impacts that occur up and down the supply chain. Conducting a life cycle assessment helps you find your carbon footprint.
North Wales hosts everything we need to reach Net Zero; we’re innovative, we have people and natural resources and the companies to deliver it! Come and hear more about the amazing things happening in the region and how you can get involved!
M-SParc, in collaboration with Perago, a digital consultancy based in South Wales, supported the Centre for Digital Public Services (CDPS) with a Tech Net Zero project. The aim of the project was to look at how digital technology in the public sector could help Wales reach Net Zero by 2050 and over a 12 week discovery a range of desk research and stakeholder interviews were held, resulting in 6 key recommendations (see left).Learn more here!
Agriculture 4.0 is here, and it is loaded with challenges and opportunities for the sector. The Green Eagle project was led by M-SParc and two tenant companies, Fortytwoable and Aerialworx showcasing how Artificial Intelligence (AI), computer vision and drone technology can decarbonise farming techniques. The Low Carbon Team carried out a life cycle assessment on the drones to assess the carbon saving potential when compared to traditional farming methods (which we’re pleased to say was favourable!).
A collaborative project between Mona Dairy, BioComposites department (Bangor University) and Menai Science Park (M-SParc), to develop a detailed understanding of the carbon emissions associated with Mona Dairy through the development of a detailed life cycle assessment.Life cycle assessment modelling and outputs is needed to underpin plans for sustainable economic growth by providing independently assessed performance data and evidence to support carbon emission claims. This project will support optimisation and the development of an LCA methodology which will result in green growth for the dairy with sustainability and local benefits at its heart.
To support Welsh businesses, The Development Bank of Wales (DBW) needs a clear understanding of decarbonisation opportunities, the relative benefits, costs, risks and saving estimations, to ensure they can provide the right support and guidance to the business community in Wales.
Within this report, the following technologies & installations have been chosen by M-SParc as the most appropriate measures that Welsh businesses should consider for Green Finance projects with the Development Bank of Wales. The information has been drawn from extensive research and interviews with companies operating within their given field of expertise.
In 2022 the low carbon team were providing support to organisations in the Conwy area to assess carbon emissions and to make recommendations on how to reduce carbon footprint. This was free to all participants with the added benefit of a low carbon grant to be spent on measures that would help reduce carbon emissions. We assessed carbon footprints by following the Greenhouse Gas Protocol methodology assessing scope 1 2 and 3 emissions. A total of 12 assessments were conducted for a diverse range of businesses from hospitality, leisure, and creative industries to name a few.
Several members of the M-SParc team have undertaken Carbon Literacy workshop. This is aimed at raising the awareness of climate change and to provide a day’s training in climate change for every participant. We have submitted our application for M-SParc to be a Carbon Literate organisation. We are also preparing a training syllabus to deliver Carbon Training in house and aim to have this accredited as Carbon Literacy training.
A key ambition of ours is to become Wales’ and perhaps the UK’s first Net Zero science park by delivering on our Net Zero by 2030 commitment. We have commissioned some of our tenants to help us map out our carbon footprint and map out the onsite renewable generation capacity needed to power the site.
For M-SParc, becoming Net Zero by 2030 is a leading principle, a further core principle is bringing our community of 52 companies with us on this journey. We want to be known across the region as innovators in the field and inspire organisations and communities across Wales to reach carbon neutrality.
We have undertaken preliminary reviews with two tenant companies (Viridian Consultants, Baileys and Partners) to gain an initial understanding of the challenge that lays ahead. In the first review, we calculated our annual energy usage across the site, detailing the annual and seasonal variations as appropriate, as well as investigating ways to increase efficiency, decrease energy demand, and replacing heating/cooling systems with zero carbon electrified systems.
The second review investigated our scope 1&2 emissions and evaluated renewable energy generation technologies that could meet our energy demand without emitting C02, such as on-site PV/Wind/Anaerobic digestors and innovative emerging technologies.
SCOPE 1
M-SParc’s current scope 1 emission rate of 55,066 kg of CO2 is due to gas heating and hot water systems. Gas comprises the majority of the carbon emitted per annum by M-SParc. Therefore, transitioning from gas systems to systems that utilise electricity should be the priority to meet our carbon targets. We aim to completely eliminate our Scope 1 emissions by the year 2026.
SCOPE 2
Bangor University, the operators of M-SParc, are a member of a consortium of British universities that has a collective bargaining agreement with electricity providers to pay a premium for the assurance that all electricity provided to the universities shall be from 100% renewable sources.60 Therefore, M-SParc would have no associated scope 2 emissions. However, further on-site renewable energy sources are in planning to offset scope 1 and 3 emissions. We currently have 100 kW of PV generation on site, with further plans in development.
SCOPE 3
Scope 3 emissions are estimated to be 9,144 kg of CO2 a year (as of February 2022). Ongoing process to calculate total Scope 3 emissions.
To reduce Scope 3 emissions at M-SParc, we are aiming to;
Electric vehicle charging points are available at M-SParc and although replacing petrol and diesel vehicles with electric vehicles is encouraged, this change is not something that can be made mandatory for staff’s personal vehicles. One final option to ensure M-SParc is a net zero carbon company is to purchase carbon offsets, investing in carbon reduction projects and applying the reductions in carbon to M-SParc’s emission rates.
Scope 3 emissions will be the most difficult to eradicate completely, we believe that this will be an iterative process with many hurdles along the way that will need to be overcome. We will need monthly monitoring of our progress, with internal reporting of our emissions. We also aim to make this journey transparent, inspiring confidence and accountability to other organisations across the region and beyond.
We recently launched our ‘Diffodd-SParc’ (‘extinguish the spark’) campaign, to help reduce our energy usage, energy costs and carbon emissions.
Working with our tenant companies, we hope to reach our goal of ’Net Zero’ by 2030!
As you can imagine, daily activities by 250 people across 52 different offices can build up to a lot of CO2 emissions! Little things can go a long way, we will be taking a much closer look on our energy usage to find ways of making a difference. We will be looking into things like;
Throughout the campaign, we will be sharing energy saving tips and encouraging our staff and tenants to be more energy efficient to save both carbon and costs!
Get in touch with Rhodri on the Low Carbon team for more information!
25by25
At M-SParc , we are proud to announce that we are working with Bangor University on their ‘25 by 25’ campaign. The project aims to reduce CO2 emissions by 25% by the year 2025. Setting targets and way points on our journey towards Net Zero will be a crucial part of the challenge, as a seemingly impossible task can be completed by creating steps along the way. This project also turbocharges the work necessary for us to calculate a ‘baseline’ that we will be reducing by 25%. By investigating our current emissions, we will gain important insight into our current activities, giving a holistic overview of where we could do better.
At the heart of the 25 by 25 project, are new ideas. We will be working closely with not only our colleagues at Bangor University, but crucially we will be working alongside students – the future! Students were invited to submit ideas and initiatives on how the University could reduce its CO2e emissions. We received over 40 proposals from students and staff which were assessed by a panel of representatives across the University.
If you have any great ideas about how to reduce emissions, or have any questions regarding the project, please get in touch with Rhodri on the Low Carbon team!
