Advanced Ceramics Industry: North Staffordshire

Amanda Hack Excerpts

Wednesday 3rd December 2025 Westminster Hall

[Dr Gardner]

I absolutely agree with my hon. Friend.

Members will know that the ceramics industry has been struggling with rising energy costs. Alongside my hon. Friends the Members for Stoke-on-Trent North (David Williams) and for Stoke-on-Trent Central (Gareth Snell), I have had sustained discussions with DBT and DESNZ about a support package for industry gas and electricity costs. Ceramics production is incredibly energy intensive, and it is the hardest energy-intensive industry to decarbonise; gas-fired tunnel kilns cannot be converted to electric plants without significant capital. I have been working with the TUC and the GMB on a proposal to develop a decarbonisation innovation fund, which would offer capital loans and grants to invest in decarbonisation technologies. As I have raised with the Minister previously, there is further potential to offer innovation vouchers to SMEs and tableware companies to access scaling and testing facilities at larger sites.

[Amanda Hack (North West Leicestershire) (Lab)]

I thank my hon. Friend for securing this important debate. I am interested in the energy intensity of the sector. Does she agree that any innovation in advanced ceramics could be shared much more broadly?

[Dr Gardner]

I am grateful to my hon. Friend for that well-made point, which is central to my argument. Any benefits we see in advanced ceramics will be felt more widely, not just in heritage tableware ceramics but in the broader field.

SMEs cannot afford to use facilities at other sites, nor can they shoulder the risks of testing hydrogen, electric kilns or process optimisation alone. Some firms are developing more efficient firing methods; for example, in the brick industry, using lightweight insulating materials for kiln cars allows more heat to go into products using less energy. These innovations could deliver real energy savings, but replacing existing equipment requires major capital, and without collaborative R&D, SMEs cannot shoulder the risks of testing new technologies. Production is sensitive: one kiln failure can destroy an entire batch worth tens of thousands of pounds. With collaborative testing environments and access to innovation vouchers, SMEs and tableware companies could access the facilities at AMRICC and Lucideon to trial hydrogen, electrification and other low-carbon processes.

Alongside decarbonisation technologies, there is real potential for AI to reduce energy consumption. Lucideon has trialled using AI to identify efficiency savings in kilns and reduce kiln gas consumption—evidence that innovation can deliver savings. I have discussed these proposals with the Minister, and I am grateful for his suggestion to work with Innovate UK. I would greatly welcome the opportunity to convene colleagues from the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology and DBT to discuss whether Innovate grants could support this proposal, or whether an alternative scheme could establish innovation vouchers.

With the right investment in innovation, infrastructure and skills, north Staffordshire could become a world-leading growth hub for advanced ceramics. Given its foundation in so many sectors, supporting advanced ceramics requires cross-departmental working. I invite the Minister to attend a roundtable with local advanced ceramics companies to discuss a working road map and a practical support package for the sector. I also invite him to meet us —including my hon. Friend the Member for Stoke-on-Trent Central, who is chair of the newly founded ceramics all-party parliamentary group—and Ceramics UK for further conversations. I look forward to continuing to work together. Will the Minister please ensure that proper investment follows the Government’s clear recognition of the vital role that both traditional and advanced ceramics play in local and national growth?