Innovation ecosystems – such as CleanTech East – can play a critical role in accelerating the adoption of clean energy by fostering innovation, collaboration, integration, and collective action, comments Fiona Lettice, Professor at the University of East Anglia, UK and a RADMA trustee.
She explains how CleanTech East, based in the east of England, it is using an ecosystem approach to bring together multiple stakeholders – including companies, researchers, investors, policymakers, and the local community – to test and develop innovative clean technology solutions.
Two of its members, CeraPhi Energy and Deep Green, discuss how CleanTech East is supporting the development of a shared vision vital for a cleaner and more sustainable future.
Collaboration is the true engine of clean energy innovation says Gary Williams, CeraPhi Energy
One of the strengths of an ecosystem is that it brings together different strands of innovation to create something far greater than the sum of its parts.
Gary Williams, COO and founder of CeraPhi Energy, says that being a member of CleanTech East has brought many benefits: “I’ve seen first-hand how ideas that start in one corner of the network can spark unexpected opportunities in another.
“At CeraPhi, our focus is on geothermal energy—harnessing the constant heat beneath our feet to provide clean, reliable power and heat. It’s a technology that works quietly in the background, providing a stable backbone for other renewables that are more weather dependent.
“In the context of the cluster, geothermal becomes more than a standalone solution. It can be linked with grid-scale storage, paired with district heating schemes, or used to decarbonise energy-hungry industries. Those connections only happen when you’re part of a collaborative ecosystem like this.
Future of clean energy is about connection
“What excites me most is the cross-disciplinary problem-solving the cluster encourages. A conversation about waste heat recovery with a data centre specialist might lead to a new application for geothermal in cooling systems. A session with battery storage innovators can uncover ways to balance constant heat supply with variable electricity demand. These aren’t theoretical discussions—they’re the seeds of real projects that can change the way our energy system works.
“Looking ahead over the next decade, I believe our region (the east of England) will be recognised as a leader in practical, deployable clean energy solutions—not just for generating power, but for integrating and optimising the whole system. CleanTech East is central to that vision. It’s the forum where ideas are tested, where partnerships form, and where the collective expertise of the group accelerates progress far faster than any one organisation could achieve alone.
“If I had to sum it up in a sentence? The clean energy transition isn’t just about technology—it’s about connection, and the cluster is where those connections turn into real-world impact.
“The future of energy will be built by networks, not silos. And right now, in this region, it is already taking shape.”
From waste to wealth – how decarbonised data centres could be a source of heat – Matt Craggs,Deep Green
Data centres are often considered energy pariahs – voracious consumers of power and water and throwing of heat as waste. However, Matt Craggs CTO and Co-Founder, Deep Green believes that these “digital furnaces” could contribute to heating the neighbourhood.
He explains that the challenge of heat is one of the toughest knots to untangle in the journey to net zero. “Councils and public estates across the UK are wrestling with legacy systems, gas-fired heating, and spiralling costs. While at the same time, heat from data centres – all too often escapes, literally, into thin air.”
Deep Green has developed the concept of “urban ecologies” where a data centre becomes part of the local energy system.
Matt continues: “Imagine that a data centre isn’t a sealed black box on the edge of town, and instead a living part of the local energy system. The servers hum, workloads run, and the heat they generate flows, through exchangers, into homes, schools, swimming pools, and light industry. The data centre then becomes a provider of clean, consistent, heat.”
Making ‘externalities’ part of the solution
“Heat exchangers are already in use. Workload management – shifting tasks to optimise energy use – offers new opportunities to match heat supply with demand. Thermal storage systems – from buffer tanks to ground-source arrays – are proven and scalable. The engineering is straightforward and the outcomes are compelling: reduced emissions, reduced costs, and resilience for communities.”
Matt says that waste heat has been considered an ‘externality’ by the datacentres – someone else’s problem.
“Historically, the regulation of wasteful behaviour hasn’t kept pace. However, we are making progress. Net zero targets demand deeper solutions, and stakeholders – from councils to utilities to operators – are increasingly motivated to collaborate. What once looked like “hard work” now makes common sense, with measurable cost savings, energy efficiency, and avoided carbon impact.
So why aren’t heat reuse data centres everywhere?
“The opportunity here is huge. Data centres can become generators of efficiency. Heat, once dismissed as an inconvenient by-product, becomes a valued resource. This is the future of decarbonisation: not isolated initiatives, but integrated systems. Not waste, but wealth. Not pariahs, but partners.”
Conclusion: CleanTech East shows how ecosystems are catalysts for R&D and innovation
CleanTech East demonstrates how regional networks create real economic and environmental benefits by harnessing local strengths and targeting practical opportunities, concludes Fiona.
“Through collaboration, cross-sector pilot projects, and shared learning, CleanTech East aims to accelerate the deployment of clean energy solutions tailored to regional needs. This place-based approach is important because environmental challenges and innovation opportunities vary by geography.”
In summary, cleantech ecosystems like CleanTeach East are essential to transform the clean energy transition from aspiration into reality.
About Scottow Enterprise Park – Home of CleanTech East
CleanTech East aims to build “a greener, smarter, and more resilient future” through a shared regional commitment to clean economic growth. It is taking a systems-level and holistic approach across sectors including advanced waste-to-energy, grid-scale battery storage and second-life energy systems, low-carbon food production, data centre decarbonisation, and sustainable aviation.
Its diverse membership includes CeraPhi Energy, Deep Green, Standard Gas Technologies, Connected Energy, Vertical Solar, Tree Associates and SaxonAir, to local authorities: North Norfolk District Council and Norfolk County Council, and research and education partners including the University of East Anglia (UEA).
It is based at the Scottow Enterprise Park, a 600-acre hub of innovation excellence in North Norfolk, UK, operated by Hethel Innovation and owned by Norfolk County Council.
It provides space – a unique mix of industrial, office and open spaces, including a former runway and aircraft hangers – and support, to enable a range of game-changing businesses to innovate and grow.
Innovation for a Sustainable Future
Different aspects of sustainable innovation have been covered in our special theme “Innovation for a Sustainable Future” where you can read more about this subject.
