Home > News > BEAMA calls for government roadmap to accelerate electrification

BEAMA, the trade body for energy infrastructure and systems, has launched a campaign called #AcceleratingElectrification in the wake of evidence that investment will fall short of the required targets for Net Zero.

The association has published its own Market Pulse analysis which reveals that while the supply chain is poised to deliver the significant increase in demand for both low carbon heating and electric vehicles, the intentions of investors are still significantly lower than 12 months ago and fall short of the UK’s electrification needs.

The slower uptake of Net Zero technologies, knocked by repeated policy delays and U-turns, has resulted in the UK attractiveness for investment being called into question, BEAMA says. Despite this, the association reports that the UK’s Net Zero supply chain is ‘optimistic and poised to deliver, as evidenced by significant UK manufacturing investments by BEAMA members.’

BEAMA said:

Concerted measures to accelerate electrification still have time to make significant improvements before 2030, but only if we understand the current trajectory and act quickly to improve it… Strong and ambitious Government targets are welcome, but a more detailed roadmap and decisive action is required today to deliver the supply chain requirements of tomorrow.

Yselkla Farmer, chief executive of BEAMA said:

Ed Miliband’s speech at the Energy UK Conference on Tuesday  highlighted precisely the challenge BEAMA’s #AcceleratingElectrification campaign seeks to address – ‘uncertainty is the enemy of investment’ – and the UK’s net zero supply chain feels this acutely…Long-term policy sets the scene, but a ‘clean energy sprint’ is only achievable with a near-term roadmap that establishes targets for the wires and transformers to upgrade grid infrastructure, heat pumps and other electrified heat solutions and EV chargepoints.

The Association warned that supply chains require five to seven-year horizons to plan manufacturing capacity and to supply a competitive global market for low carbon technologies: “When a new factory can take seven years to build, or a skills shortage impedes capacity to deploy products, clear policy and regulatory signals that translate into manufacturing orders are needed to address this gap and stimulate this critical £14bn sector.”

#AcceleratingElectrification is an industry-wide campaign, backed by BEAMA’s 200+ members, which seeks to foster sustainable growth and investment within the UK electrical supply chain.

Yselkla added:

The UK is clearly back in the global race for Net Zero delivery, and with a series of imminent policies that will accelerate electrification across power, heating and transport there are reasons for optimism. However, a gap continues to grow between the projected energy sector investment needed to meet our targets and the current rate of deployment. Optimism and confidence are far from where they need to be, and without urgent clarity, UK manufacturing of these vital technologies will struggle to meet future demand. The choice is clear, risk becoming reliant on supply chains outside of the UK or capitalise on the huge potential to grow this economic opportunity and build on the current £5bn of exports we currently maintain.

BEAMA said its survey showed that the industry intends to invest, but that the extent of this is not yet transformational, or aligned with projected demand, capacity is not being maximised and optimism remains cautious.

The report concluded that the UK is missing its decarbonisation targets and lacking the clear frameworks and detailed roadmaps to increase the pace at scale.  Among the key findings are:

  • The UK needs to increase heat pump uptake up by 16 times the current delivery rates to hit 2030 targets. But the spark gap can be filled through electricity price rebalancing and opening the market to the full range of electric heating products, as well as heat pumps.
  • The UK is 11 years away from having a complete smart metering system to support a smart flexible energy system in the UK. This will not enable us to meet our Net Zero targets. Manufacturers are leaving the UK market due to slowdown in smart meter deployment.
  • The modest increase in investment intentions across the sector does not reflect the electrification needs for the UK. Far greater certainty of demand is required, either from government-led investment at infrastructure level or from builders and consumers for end-use products.
  • Supply chain capacity utilisation edged lower below the five-year average, while some parts of the supply chain for electricity networks report operating at full capacity. 91% of members do not reserve capacity for demand fluctuations which means decisions need to be taken now to increase capacity for 2030 infrastructure delivery and beyond.
  • Manufacturing unit costs hit a four-year low with energy, shipping and labour costs having a greater impact than materials, underscoring that now is a prime moment to invest in UK manufacturing.
  • 50% of BEAMA members report an intention to hire more employees, but challenges remain in filling vacancies because of ongoing skills shortages in engineering and STEM.
  • Innovators operating in heat electrification are struggling to commercialise at scale due to slow progress with policy support and uncertainty over the construction sector outlook. Narrow focus on certain heat technologies is impacting the ability to scale up (progress towards the heat pump lead forecast is only at 10%) and therefore risking an inability to address the 20% non-heat pump homes identified by Government – this represents 6m units and immediate action is required.

BEAMA concluded that there remains a £1 trillion global opportunity to position the UK as the global Net Zero workshop, with the Market Pulse data showing that business optimism has bounced back to above the five-year average in 2024

The road ahead

BEAMA has formed the Electricity Products Supply Chain Council, a body made up of all key industry organisations, focused on improving investment and delivery conditions for boosting the Net Zero economy. The Council said it is eager to spark action and deliver the essential building blocks to secure the UK’s future decarbonisation. BEAMA said it is calling on government to ensure this has ministerial leadership to spearhead regular dialogues between the supply chain, infrastructure providers and the construction industry.

BEAMA said that the key Council priorities will be:

  1. Investment in electricity networks – continue and expand collaboration to improve visibility of future work to improve investment conditions.
  2. Active monitoring of deliverability – reviewing market trends and product supply issues and proposing interventions to resolve these.
  3. Assessing supply chains for electrification technologies – analysing deliverability of buildings decarbonisation targets and opportunities for UK industry.