Five ways Scotland is using tech to drive sustainability

Scotland has the UK’s largest carbon dioxide storage potential (and one of the largest in Europe), positioning it as a future transport-and-storage hub for carbon, hydrogen and broader net zero innovation. Add world class research, wind resources (Scottish turbines already deliver around two thirds of the UK’s renewable electricity) and you’ve got a nation primed to turn cutting edge R&D into measurable climate impact. Here’s a list projects you should know about.  

Digital twins for a cleaner, faster transport system

TransiT, a Scotland led consortium jointly steered by Heriot Watt University and the University of Glasgow, marks the UK’s largest investment in digital twinning and artificial intelligence (AI) to date, building a five year national hub to optimise and decarbonise transport across modes. But what are digital twins?

According to the project, a digital twin is a live, data driven replica of the physical world, fusing streams from cameras, vehicle and infrastructure sensors, and satellite positioning. It continuously tests scenarios and pushes improvements back to real world operations in (near) real time — for example, rerouting traffic via dynamic signage to cut idling emissions during a congestion event. Near instant, two way feedback loops translate into fewer wasted miles, smoother multimodal journeys and tangible carbon savings without waiting years for capital heavy asset replacements. So far, the project has engaged with over 70 industry partners for support, and is looking particularly for input from HGV operators and logistics companies for insight into its research. However, TransiT does not work on its own.

DARe: building resilience into mobility — before the next shock hits

To tackle moving climate targets and managing resilience in front of a changing climate, TransiT’s sister hub DARe is currently working on viable pathways and solutions for a transition to an adaptable, resilient, net zero transport system that works for all. The hub unites Newcastle, Cambridge, Glasgow and Heriot Watt, and has linked over 100 experts with partners spanning government, industry and city authorities to stress test real world operations. 

A recent roundtable shared findings from casework on extreme weather disruption to mass participation events; in a survey of 319 runners at the Great North Run 2023, 54% said they were unaware of the Met Office yellow weather warning, while others who were aware still felt unprepared for post race travel disruption — evidence that data, comms and operational response must be designed as a system.

Why does this matter? Resilience is a moving target. DARe’s multidisciplinary approach of combining climate modelling, whole life asset management and transport systems modelling brings stakeholders into the room early, so adaptation measures are actionable, equitable and grounded in lived experience.

Robots that reduce waste, brave hazards and keep turbines spinning

The National Robotarium (NR) (https://tinyurl.com/a2yd7ywm) in Edinburgh may be known to many as a leader in the development of robotics policy in the UK, but is perhaps at times underrepresented in terms of technological innovation. Here are three key projects where robots are directly used for sustainability in the NR. 

Repurposing 3D printing plastics: PLA waste is produced as a result of 3D printing, which is often an essential part of rapid prototyping for research or production. Technical experts Thomas McGravie and Dr Alix Partridge have built a practical, campus wide process to shred and remanufacture mixed plastic waste into new parts — born from the simple reuse of 54 kg from the NR’s multiple 3D printers and specialist machines. This has diverted waste and cut procurement lead times for low risk components. The project is part of the UK RAS STEPS  programme shared with the University of Leeds.

Underwater eROVs for offshore renewables: with geo data specialists at Fugro, the Robotarium’s UNITE project has developed autonomous, electric remotely operated vehicles (eROVs) to inspect and repair offshore wind assets. The £1.4 million project showed maintenance missions could shrink from three weeks to three hours, with fuel use down by up to 97% — a step change in cost, safety and carbon for a sector central to decarbonising grids, recognised at the Scottish Knowledge Exchange Awards.

Soft robot ‘tentacles’ for safer inspections: partnering with Brazil’s SENAI CIMATEC, NR engineers created a flexible, remotely operated manipulator that snakes through tight, irregular spaces in air or water, common in offshore structures, offering lower cost, lower risk inspection options. It’s the NR’s first fully in house soft robot system, demonstrating how bio inspired designs can unlock difficult decarbonisation work and improve human safety.

Policy, clusters and maritime tech that scale industrial decarbonisation
The UK Industrial Decarbonisation Research and Innovation Centre (IDRIC) has mapped a CO₂ transport backbone option: reusing and extending pipelines from Grangemouth to Aberdeenshire (~160 miles) and enabling CO₂ shipping via Scottish ports would reduce emissions by up to 9 MtCO₂ from top emitting sectors. If Scotland secured up to 40% of the UK’s Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) programme, independent analysis suggests the creation of up to 45,000 jobs by 2030 and 100,000 by 2050. 

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However, IDRIC does not only focus on roadmapping, having recently secured support for MaritimeTwin. The prototype blends real time satellite feeds with a virtual twin of vessels and routes to optimise fuel consumption, plan around weather, currents and port conditions and monitor emissions, continuously improving via machine learning. 
It’s designed to move quickly from lab to sea trials with end user input from across the maritime value chain. This will be enabled by strong Scottish infrastructure, hopefully attracting further policy incentives for marine decarbonisation and carbon capture and storage technologies.

Green finance that matches engineering ambition

Technology alone won’t deliver net zero; capital must move with it. Led by Professor Bing Xu, the green business and finance theme within Heriot Watt’s Global Research Institute for Net Zero and Beyond (iNetZ+) develops financial models and business strategies that reflect the social, economic and political realities of transition. From circular economy investment cases to policy aligned incentives, the group focuses on de risking adoption and scaling impact — joining dots between boardrooms, regulators and innovators across the university’s global research network. Why does it matter? Because robust financing frameworks, aligned to standards and real world constraints, unlock deployment at pace — so breakthroughs in labs, shipyards and control rooms turn into gigaton relevant outcomes.

Bringing it all together

Looking at these examples, Scotland is leading the way in terms of business and environmental sustainability. What makes it work? Well, it’s a blend of technology, people and infrastructure. For transport, TransiT’s interlinked digital twins and DARe’s resilience lens treat mobility, climate and people as a coupled system — solving for emissions and reliability at once. In the Robotarium, iterative and collaborative development with industry and communities inspire new applications, from eROVs to soft robotics and recycled PLA, to improve safety while shrinking costs and risks in parallel. For IDRIC’s Scottish branch clusters, CO₂ networks and port based shipping give heavy emitters credible routes to act now, not in 2049, therefore pushing the team to investigate new policy options. And financially, iNetZ+ looks at ways to support it all.