Polarium on Engineering The Transition

As heavy industry in the UK and Sweden races to decarbonise, the focus is shifting from pilots to scalable, commercially viable solutions. In this Q&A, we asked Simon Björklund, Managing Director UK, Ireland & Benelux, Polarium, where he sees the biggest near-term opportunities to cut emissions – and what needs to change across technology, regulation and value chains to unlock full-scale roll-out.

Across your UK and Swedish operations, where do you see the biggest near-term opportunities to cut emissions, and which technologies are you prioritising to deliver them at scale?
One of the clearest near-term opportunities is replacing or supplementing diesel generators with battery energy storage. For instance in telecom infrastructure, diesel is still widely used for backup power and off-grid reliability, creating both emissions and operational cost challenges. Lithium-ion battery systems can significantly reduce generator run time or replace diesel entirely. Polarium has a long track record of designing battery solutions that integrate with telecom networks and renewable energy sources. The replacement of diesel as option for backup power is also possible in a much wider scope, and we have for instance installed a battery system at Swansea University, which is being used to cut power peaks and supply critical backup power to their semiconductor manufacturing.

For heavy industry’s green transition, what needs to work differently between the UK and Sweden – from regulation to customers and suppliers – to move more projects from pilots to full commercial roll-out?
For heavy industry’s green transition to scale beyond pilots, clearer and more harmonised frameworks are essential. Sweden has benefited from relatively consistent policy and strong industrial coordination. In the UK, progress would accelerate with greater harmonisation of planning processes and grid connection requirements across regions. Today, projects often face differing local network conditions and technical requirements depending on the distribution operator, which increases complexity for nationwide roll-outs. This can sometimes necessitate additional technical studies and site-specific agreements that adds time and uncertainty. The UK grid code is also relatively stringent, and the commercial adoption of green technologies would benefit from a more standardised approach that more closely harmonise with the rest of Europe.