How digital collaboration is shaping the future of industrial clusters worldwide

Industrial clusters – geographically concentrated areas or hubs where interconnected industries, companies and institutions operate – offer a unique opportunity to create system value through collaboration. Achieving large-scale collaboration within these clusters, however, is inherently challenging without the support of strong digital capabilities to navigate complexity and optimize the integration of players within the cluster.

By collectively advancing their digital maturity, clusters can unlock value that individual stakeholders could not achieve independently – such as attracting investments for shared infrastructure, driving significant economic, social, and environmental benefits.

China: In Inner Mongolia, for example, the Net-Zero Ordos-Envision Industrial Park – one of the 30 signatories of the Transitioning Industrial Clusters initiative – uses an advanced digital energy management system. This enables the integration of real-time data from over 46 companies with advanced analytics and AI. It optimizes renewable energy dispatch, energy storage scheduling, demand response and carbon management. The digital platform has led to significant electricity cost-saving opportunities (~10%) enhancing the overall cluster's competitiveness. “Additionally, this approach supports grid stabilization and enables a high penetration of renewable energy in the cluster, contributing to the cluster’s Net-Zero ambition,” says Glenn Gu, Senior Director at Envision.

United Kingdom: Digital tools also play a key role in the infrastructure planning phase, enabling data-driven decision-making. In the Zero Carbon Humber cluster in the UK, a digital twin was developed by Microsoft, Accenture and the University of Sheffield Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre (AMRC) to model hydrogen-based decarbonization scenarios across the industries in the cluster. “This enabled the cluster to map infrastructure needs for hydrogen production and to mitigate risk through digitalization, applying our 'measure twice, cut once' principle,” says Robert Hopkin, Managing Director at Accenture. It also supported the cluster in assessing the environmental impact, job creation and economic stimulation potential across the UK – with social and economic value opportunities mapped against over 300 UK manufacturing companies and service providers – enabling informed discussions with government and other key local stakeholders.

Australia: The Kwinana Industries Council is building a transformative approach to industrial symbiosis, facilitating over 170 contracts between 54 companies for byproduct exchange, encompassing energy, water and materials. The Kwinana Industrial Cluster exemplifies how interconnected industrial ecosystems can operate efficiently and sustainably.

The transition to an interconnected digital platform begins with a systems view of byproduct exchange, enabling strategic interventions, like integrating new entrants into the cluster or managing the shutdown of facilities.

After BHP temporarily suspended operations at its Nickel West refinery in Kwinana, for example, the digital platform allowed for a rapid analysis of the impact on the cluster.

Stephen McGurk, founding partner of Circular Ecosystems — the company aiding the digitalization efforts — highlights this capability as crucial for maintaining operational resilience. Furthermore, the cluster is embarking on a pilot project to expand its existing symbiotic model into a more detailed input/output framework. This project aims to integrate and visualize quantities for inputs, outputs and waste, as well as emission profiles to enhance resource efficiency and accelerate decarbonization efforts.

“The cluster is a global leader in industrial symbiosis and digital collaboration could further unlock its potential,” says David Harrison, Kwinana Industries Council’s CEO.

These examples demonstrate synergies that span the cluster lifecycle, from shared infrastructure development to resource circularity and commercial optimization.

Digital collaboration at the cluster level can be challenging, as clusters face several barriers to adopting shared digital technologies. These include trust issues around exchanging data among players, who may be both partners and competitors; regulatory frameworks, such as antitrust laws; disparate digital tool adoption; uneven technology maturity among participants; and concerns over cybersecurity risks.

Some clusters successfully overcame these barriers, shedding light on a set of foundational enablers, both technical and organizational.

• Technical enablers, such as robust privacy and security frameworks, play a key role in addressing cybersecurity concerns and building trust, ensuring participants have control over the data they share.

• Organizational enablers, such as data governance and strategic alignment among stakeholders, encourage co-design efforts and active participation in the data collaboration process, driving collective success.

In view of this, “we should not be thinking about data-sharing, but rather data-collaboration emphasizing a cooperative approach, where participants contribute data in a secure and mutually beneficial way, as described in the 5 principles of public-private collaboration” says Gadi Benmoshe, Vice-Chair of the Data Collaboration Committee of the International Association of Ports and Harbors (IAPH) and Managing Director of Marinnovators consulting.

Spain: The Net Zero Basque Industrial Super Cluster, led by the Basque Government, Repsol/Petronor and Iberdrola, is building a digital tool to promote, coordinate, track and inform the deployment of the industrial decarbonization strategy in the Basque Country. This helps create a common vision and strategic alignment within the Super Cluster. It has begun working with industries with higher emissions in the region (refinery, concrete, pulp and paper, steel and foundry, which together account for 65% of total industrial emissions), with the aim of expanding it to other industries in the following years. “The digital platform is aimed at more than 170 stakeholders and will focus on energy consumption indicators, associated CO2 emissions, R&D activities, investments, economic and social impact,” says Cristina Oyón, Deputy Director General at Grupo SPRI - the Basque Business Development Agency.

Belgium: Similarly, digital workforce training plays a crucial role in building a resilient environment in industrial clusters. In 2018, recognizing the rise in cyber-attacks, the Port of Antwerp-Bruges transformed its IT department into a key business enabler. As part of this shift, Yannick Herrebaut was appointed the organization’s first Chief Information Security Officer, establishing the Cyber Resilience Department to tackle evolving threats, with a focus on human-targeted attacks. “One of my first initiatives was an automated user awareness programme, which combined admin-friendly tools with gamified content to promote a strong cybersecurity culture among employees,” says Herrebaut.

United States: The Port of Los Angeles provides a great example of cross-sectoral digital collaboration to address cyber risks. The port’s first-of-its-kind Cyber Resilience Center (CRC) provides oversight, notifications, alarms and assistance to the port industrial cluster. By offering an ecosystem-wide perspective, it identifies and prevents threats to the port itself and to the broader industrial community, including trucking, rail, shipping, warehousing, retail and terminal operators. Data collaboration is facilitated through a system that accommodates varying levels of digital maturity among stakeholders, ranging from basic email-based exchanges to modern API integrations. Additionally, its governance structure ensures inclusive and transparent decision-making through a committee that represents the interests of the diverse stakeholders of the community.

Building successful digital collaboration in industrial clusters is best facilitated by a phased approach. This begins with engaging a core group of participants and gradually expanding the variety and depth of shared data.

Sheeba Varughese, CIO of the Port of Los Angeles, emphasizes, “Build it up – start pilots with a few major players – then scale it.” This incremental approach ensures that trust is established, processes are refined and early successes create momentum for broader participation. As clusters expand, they can increase the complexity and scope of data-collaboration initiatives to include more stakeholders and advanced tools.

Additionally, as the example of the Port of Los Angeles demonstrates, accommodating established tools, processes and data formats is essential in the early stages. “By leveraging existing legacy systems, companies can begin collaborating without requiring significant technological changes,” says Gary Boyle, Principal Director at Accenture. This approach allows organizations to transition gradually to more integrated systems over time, minimizing high costs and disruptions associated with immediate technology changes. “Situational collaboration must also be considered. Depending on the stage of the project and, as trust evolves, companies may be willing to share different types of data,” says Boyle.

The Netherlands: The Port of Rotterdam is another example of a phased digital approach. Six industrial companies and two grid operators faced with grid congestion will participate in a one-year pilot project, starting at the beginning of 2025, seeking to optimize across multiple energy flows in the harbour industrial cluster. The project is named Starlings, inspired by the behaviour of starling flocks, which move together as a cohesive, flexible cloud to enhance safety. In these flocks, each bird adjusts its movement and speed in response to those closest to it, demonstrating the power of collective coordination to reduce individual vulnerability. Based on a feasibility study with results indicating 2-5% energy cost savings, the Port of Rotterdam invested around €2 million into the project and, after a tender procedure, Yokogawa and Distro Energy were selected to build the digital platform for the pilot. The first results are expected in mid-2025 and will drive the design of the follow-up phases.

Exchanging best practices and lessons learned will be crucial for accelerating progress. This is one of the objectives of the Transitioning Industrial Clusters initiative supported by the World Economic Forum, Accenture and EPRI. The initiative provides a forum for industrial clusters, along with leaders from the public and private sectors, research organizations and NGOs, to come together, explore opportunities for collaboration and share lessons learned and best practices. The initiative will publish a digital maturity framework offering clusters actionable steps and practical tools to enhance digital collaboration. By fostering its global adoption and scaling, industrial clusters worldwide can unlock unprecedented potential for industrial synergies, paving the way for economic growth, job creation and decarbonization.