Climate change is no longer a distant concern or a theoretical debate. It is happening now, and its impacts are increasingly visible. In the UK, 2025 has officially been recorded as the hottest year on record, a stark reminder that climate thresholds are approaching faster than many anticipated. Against this backdrop, the global ambition to limit warming to 1.5°C feels both urgent and daunting. To achieve it, the world must reach net zero emissions by 2050 and manufacturing sits right at the centre of this challenge.
As one of the most energy‑intensive sectors globally, manufacturing has both a responsibility and an opportunity. The responsibility is clear: industrial activity contributes significantly to carbon emissions. The opportunity is perhaps even more powerful. Manufacturing engineers design the systems, processes and technologies that will either lock in emissions for decades or dramatically reduce them.
That is why the Manufacturing Technical Network’s 2026 Manufacturing Competition is more than just a competition. It is a platform for ideas that could genuinely influence how the sector responds to the net zero challenge.
A Competition Focused on Real Impact
The theme for the 2026 competition asks deceptively simple questions:
What critical action must your sector of manufacturing take to contribute to achieving net zero?
What are the barriers preventing the manufacturing sector from achieving a radical leap in energy productivity and how can these be overcome?
The competition actively welcomes submissions from a wide range of viewpoints. Whether your work is rooted in a final‑year project, graduate scheme rotation, doctoral research or an early‑career role, this is an opportunity to connect your technical expertise to one of the defining challenges of our time.
The Barriers We Don’t Talk About Enough
When conversations turn to net zero, attention often focuses on technology alone. While innovation is essential, many of the biggest barriers facing manufacturing are not purely technical.
Legacy infrastructure is one example. Manufacturing facilities are long‑term investments, often operating equipment designed decades ago. Retrofitting or replacing these systems to improve energy productivity can be costly, disruptive and difficult to justify within short business cycles. Compatibility issues between old and new systems can slow progress even when solutions exist.
Skills and confidence also play a role. Advanced energy management, digital optimisation and low‑carbon manufacturing techniques require new competencies. Many organisations recognise the need to change but lack the internal capability to move quickly or safely. This can lead to hesitation, pilot projects that never scale, or missed opportunities altogether.
Then there is the question of risk. Manufacturing margins can be tight, and decision‑makers are often balancing sustainability goals against productivity, quality and delivery pressures. Without clear evidence, proven case studies or supportive policy frameworks, bold action can feel like an unacceptable gamble.
These are precisely the kinds of challenges the competition is designed to surface and explore.
Why Early‑Career Voices Matter
Students and early‑career engineers bring a perspective that is especially valuable right now. Many are trained with sustainability, systems thinking and digital tools embedded into their education. Others are working at the coalface of modern manufacturing, seeing first‑hand where processes waste energy, where data is underused or where small changes could unlock significant gains.
The competition offers a chance to articulate those insights and place them in front of industry leaders who can influence real change.
How to Submit an entry
Entrants are invited to submit a 500‑word abstract outlining the scope and aims of their presentation, along with a three‑slide PowerPoint covering aims, objectives and an overview. If you already have a strong presentation from a final‑year project, graduate scheme or research programme, you can adapt it rather than starting from scratch.
Importantly, this is not about having all the answers. It is about asking the right questions, framing the challenge clearly and proposing credible pathways forward.
More Than a Prize
Of course, there is a cash prize on offer, and that recognition can make a real difference early in a career. But the benefits go well beyond that.
Presenting your work to a professional audience builds confidence and visibility. It strengthens your CV with evidence of thought leadership and communication skills. Perhaps most importantly, it places your ideas into a wider conversation about the future of manufacturing at a time when those ideas are urgently needed.
The competition also reflects the Manufacturing Technical Network’s broader commitment to supporting emerging talent and encouraging meaningful engagement with sustainability and net zero. By taking part, you are contributing not just a submission, but a perspective that could inspire others across the community.
Key Details at a Glance
The competition is open to undergraduate students, postgraduate students and early‑career professionals within three years of starting their engineering career (a CV is required for early‑career entrants).
The deadline is 30 June 2026 at 5:00 pm BST, and submissions should be sent to lcallaghan@theiet.org.
Full terms and conditions are available on our Manufacturing Network page
A Call to Action
The path to net zero will not be delivered by policy alone, nor by technology in isolation. It will be shaped by engineers who understand systems, constraints and trade‑offs, and who are willing to challenge assumptions about how manufacturing operates.
If you have an idea, an insight or a piece of work that speaks to this challenge, this competition is your opportunity to share it.
The future of manufacturing will be defined by the choices made today. Make yours count.