About RNZL

Realising Net Zero Liverpool (RNZL) is about breaking down barriers to urban clean energy infrastructure in Liverpool. Sustainable energy is also cheap energy, and can support economic growth and improve the lives of citizens, including those who struggle most with the cost of living.

Our approach

Achieving net-zero is not just a technical challenge — it's systemic. Clean energy investment is held up by many interconnected uncertainties — around business and financing models, grid capacity and system operation, inadequacy of commercial and public support, absent skills and weak supply chains, and outdated planning frameworks, to name a few.

That’s why we’re tackling these complex, interconnected barriers through a single, holistic and ambitious programme, identifying portfolios of urban energy infrastructure opportunities across power, heat and electric transport, and exploring innovative solutions to unlock investment and delivery.

Our locations

Our approach is grounded in real-world analysis in three representative locations in the city — the Centre, Newsham Park and its surrounding area, and Festival Gardens — demonstrating solutions to challenges like engaging the public and fragmented planning frameworks.

From retrofitting sheltered housing and listed buildings to pioneering ground-source heat networks and flexible power system operation, we’re showing what’s possible when different organisations collaborate as one.

Our partners

RNZL is a £3.5m project funded under Innovate UK’s Net Zero Living Programme, one of a handful of demonstrator projects that aim to show the way for Local Authorities across the country.

We are a dynamic partnership of public, private, and academic organisations united by this shared mission. Led by Liverpool City Council and New Resource Partners, our project brings together key players including Onward Homes, SP Energy Networks, Regent Capital, and Decentralised Energy Solutions.

Additional collaborators

Additional collaborators include the University of Liverpool, Liverpool John Moores University, Harbour Project Management, and Enquip Energy. Together, we're delivering innovative, replicable solutions that can be scaled across the UK and beyond.

Citizens, businesses and investors alike stand to benefit from the urban clean energy revolution. We are building the tools and the networks to make this possible.