From promising idea to credible low-carbon project
SystemZero Consulting provides independent strategic, technical and project advisory services to industrial organisations, infrastructure owners and deep-tech companies who are looking for low-carbon solutions.
Who We SupportComplex projects need more than a technology solution
Low-carbon and deep-tech projects depend on the interaction between technology, economics, infrastructure, regulation, organisational capability and implementation risk. SystemZero brings these dimensions together to help you structure complex decisions and develop an evidence-based route forward.
Industrial & infrastructure organisations
For organisations evaluating hydrogen, low-carbon power or other decarbonisation pathways, SystemZero helps define the problem, compare options and establish a practical implementation strategy.
Deep-tech start-ups & scale-ups
For technology companies moving towards commercial deployment, SystemZero provides independent advice on readiness, project definition, commercialisation, governance and delivery.
Investors & strategic partners
For organisations considering a technology investment, partnership or project commitment, SystemZero helps examine technical maturity, scalability, integration requirements, commercial assumptions and delivery risk.
Why SystemZero We help determine whether the project is feasible before you commit to building it
SystemZero draws on a career spent as the independent, senior check on major infrastructure and transport programs — running progress assurance reviews and leading delivery client-side. That's the same discipline brought to a single low-carbon or deep-tech decision: comparing the options, testing the numbers, and building the route to implementation before the big commitment is made.
How SystemZero can help
Complex low-carbon projects raise different questions at different stages — SystemZero works across all of them.
Strategy & technology assessment
Comparing plausible pathways against the evidence to determine which ones warrant further work.
Feasibility & techno-economic studies
Testing whether a concept is technically sound and economically viable at a depth proportionate to the decision.
Deep-tech readiness & commercialisation
Helping founders and leadership teams turn a promising technology into an executable, investable business.
Hydrogen systems & infrastructure
Evaluating production, storage, distribution and industrial integration as one connected system.
Implementation roadmaps
A credible end-state doesn't by itself define a viable route to delivery — SystemZero builds the route.
Our selected areas of focus
Heavy industry
Airports and aviation
Data-centre energy systems
Rail and transit
Expertise built on decades of hands-on experience
SystemZero is led personally by Ian Sutherland, whose four-decade-long career spans major infrastructure and transport programs across the UK, Saudi Arabia, Australia and Canada — including the Riyadh Metro and Toronto's Metrolinx hydrogen rail program — with the last decade focused specifically on hydrogen and industrial decarbonisation. That experience stays with you throughout the engagement, from the first conversation to the final recommendation.
Let’s begin the conversation
If you are evaluating a hydrogen, industrial decarbonisation, low-carbon power or deep-tech opportunity, an initial conversation can help clarify the decision, the most important uncertainties and the most proportionate next step.
The conversation does not require a fully developed project brief. Its purpose is to establish whether there is a meaningful fit between your need and SystemZero’s capabilities.
An initial discussion can explore
The opportunity or decision you are considering
What has already been established
The most important uncertainties
Who needs to be involved
Whether a focused review, feasibility study, multidisciplinary study or roadmap is the right next step