Two days at the MSIP Dundee Demonstrator Event in support of COP26

The two-week COP26 summit in Glasgow has seen world leaders, activists and delegates come together to discuss solutions and plans to manage the ever-worsening climate crisis. Meanwhile in Dundee, “The city of discovery” and in recent times a city “Changing for the future”, there was a similar gathering of innovative and creative thinkers at the repurposed Michelin Scotland Innovation Parc (MSIP) who were hosting their Demonstrator Event. The two-day event was a chance to showcase the sustainable mobility and decarbonisation industry in Scotland. This event is proof of tangible action being taken to provide a collaborative space for innovators and entrepreneurs alike, to increase demand and shift behaviour patterns towards more sustainable operations and products. The event saw 30 speakers, 9 workshops, over 40 demonstrators and exhibitors, plus an indoor and outdoor test track demonstrating sustainable mobility options big and small.


Day 1 was hosted by one of the UK’s leading low carbon, circular economy and sustainability experts - John Curtis, who provided passionate insight throughout the day across all topic areas and described what’s to come very appropriately as “The decade of doing.” The event saw a great range of speakers starting with Kate Forbes, Cabinet Secretary for Finance and the Economy, who compared the required climate action to that of the work undergone in transforming MSIP to a leading global innovation hub as “The opportunities far-outweighing the risk.” She went on to stress the importance for Scotland to lead on sustainable change and set the bar for the rest of the world. 
The speakers from a variety of sectors across the two days, went on to comment on topics such as the future of zero emissions transport, the storage and transportation of energy, solutions for a net zero future and visions for 2030. 
SWARCO was proud to support the MSIP Demonstrator Event as part of our commitment to be as environmentally sound as possible. We showcased our eVolve charging posts along with one of our electric fleet cars, one of which also took part in the EV Rally of Scotland  last week – a five day journey covering 1200 miles around Scotland demonstrating the strength of the charging infrastructure in the region.
Jamie Green, head of sales for SWARCO Smart Charging in Scotland presented on ‘What will power and enable future zero emissions transport’. Outlining the 3 main areas believed to be key to achieving net zero as - behaviour change/ education, infrastructure, and cost. As 17% of global emissions are directly related to road travel and 66% of all UK journeys are made by car, a shift in transport transformation thinking is critical. Jamie’s presentation demonstrated that the key to reaching these goals is that an extensive, reliable, and robust charging network must play for businesses, families, and services across the country. Jamie further highlighted the staggering increase in demand for EV uptake in the UK as well as the significant growth of the UK-wide charging network; stating in the last 30 days there had been 1,000 new charge points installed. Jamie then went on to show the projects that have taken place locally, in Dundee in which EV charging hubs have been installed across the city with the local council to further bolster the ChargePlace Scotland Network offering. 
After insight and expertise from all the fascinating speakers, the event was closed with an emotional sign off from Greig Coull, CEO at MSIP, who stressed the responsibility that environmental stewardship brings. Greig emphasised the need for everyone to make a leap of faith to meet the needs of the earth and become ambassadors for change and through the energy omitted during the 2-day event we can make this the decade of doing.