Scotland’s Net Zero Technology Centre (NZTC) has published its latest Annual Review, charting the non-profit’s impact over a surprisingly strong year, which has seen nearly £40 million co-invested with industry and more than 900 new technologies screened.

This year marks a pivotal moment for the net zero organisation, as it prepares to move beyond its original ten-year funding period in 2026, but the figures show that the NZTC has already far exceeded the targets set out in that first round of government funding.

According to the review, the NZTC has secured £270 million in match funding from industry to support net zero tech, almost £100 million more than its initial target.

It also claims to have had a hand in the commercialisation of 74 technologies, more than quadrupling its original ambition to see fifteen pieces of tech commercialised by 2026.

Also acting as a startup incubator for tech firms in the net zero space, the Centre said that so far it has helped accelerate 130 new businesses, far outstripping the initial target of 100, with twelve startups beginning their journey in the last year. 

Put together, these achievements are expected to earn Scotland a £10 billion boost to the national Gross Value Added (GVA), £1 billion more than the NZTC was aiming for when funding was first set out in 2017 as part of the Aberdeen City Region Deal.

Of course, being the focal point for net zero in Scotland, the Centre’s main achievement must be measured in its climate impact, too.

The review claims that, since its inception, the NZTC’s work has avoided more than 42 million tonnes of  CO₂e from entering the atmosphere, roughly equivalent to taking over 9 million petrol cars off the road for an entire year, or not burning almost 100 million barrels of oil.

Among the most successful projects so far is the NZTC’s backing of Aberdeen-based  Accord ESL,an energy solutions firm that developed a real-time model that maps minute-by-minute methane and CO2 emissions data from oil and gas flaring, which claims to be helping operators reduce emissions by a projected 1.4 million tonnes of CO2e across the North Sea basin.

The NZTC’s work in developing hydrogen energy has also seen a boost in the last year. The Hydrogen Offshore Production Project, backed by £2.1 million from the Scottish Government’s Just Transition Fund, completed its first phase in 2024 as it looks to begin the production of up to 500MW of offshore green hydrogen next year. 

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As well as these projects, 2024 saw a further eighteen field trials of new net zero tech either planned or underway, with more than 170 being completed since the Centre’s inception, while this year has seen the conclusion of the three-year, £16.5 million Net Zero Technology Transition Programme which has delivered seven new projects to reduce emissions and accelerate clean energy innovation. 

Writing in the foreword to the review, NZTC CEO Myrtle Dawes said: “The future of energy is being shaped right here in Aberdeen and NZTC is proving that place-based innovation can deliver national and global impact.

“We have delivered a portfolio of commercial and government-funded projects that reflect the breadth of our ambition and the depth of our technical expertise. NZTC has already made a lasting impact, and we’re just getting started.”