Work starts on £25m low carbon innovation centre in Midlothian

Work is underway today to deliver a £25 million low carbon innovation centre being built on the outskirts of Edinburgh.The new building, which will be carbon neutral in operation, will be the global centre of R&D and manufacturing for two key technologies on the path to net zero.The £25m inward investment – by Danish family-owned multinational Danfoss – will be home to Danfoss Editron which develops electric and hybrid powertrain systems for heavy-duty vehicles, and to Digital Displacement – a technology conceived at the University of Edinburgh which will radically reduce energy consumption in hydraulic machines.Danfoss estimates that global adoption of these two technologies could reduce the lifetime CO2 emissions of excavators alone by 80 Megatonnes (Mt) by 2030 – equivalent to the entire annual CO2 emissions of Scotland and Denmark combined.The flagship centre at Shawfair Business Park in Midlothian will complete next year and will be carbon neutral in operation. The building will recover energy used during production and testing, with a heat pump available as a backup if required, whilst the building’s electricity consumption will also be covered by a green power purchase agreement. The facility is being developed by Buccleuch PropertyThe ongoing development and commercialisation of the two technologies is being supported by the UK’s Advanced Propulsion Centre and Innovate UK.In 2018, Danfoss, together with partner Robbie Fluid Engineering, secured £11m from APC towards the company’s £22m Digital Displacement programme, aimed at radically reducing energy consumption in off-road machines.In 2021 Danfoss Editron, together with partners Meritor and Electra Commercial Vehicles, secured £15.9m APC funding towards a £31.9m programme to develop zero-emission electric powertrains for heavy vehicles.