About Muir
Dr Muir Freer is a Research Fellow at the Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research, University of Manchester, specialising in economic modelling, industrial decarbonisation and the transition to a circular, low-carbon economy.
His current research focuses on what would it cost to transform the nation’s building stock to achieve zero carbon emissions, zero waste and zero extraction of new raw materials by 2050?
As part of the UK-wide BuildZero research programme, Muir is developing economic modelling to assess the costs of achieving these three zero targets. His work examines the financial implications of transforming the UK’s built environment, providing evidence to help understand the economic feasibility of a construction sector that operates without generating carbon emissions or waste, or relying on newly extracted raw materials.
Alongside BuildZero, Muir has extensive expertise in bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS), carbon dioxide removal and industrial decarbonisation. His research combines economic assessment, spatial modelling and infrastructure analysis to understand how low-carbon technologies can be deployed efficiently, affordably and at scale.
A major contribution of his research is the development of the Carbon Navigation System (CNS), a high-resolution digital twin modelling tool that assesses the economic and environmental performance of complex energy and industrial supply chains. The model integrates geographical data, transport networks, resource availability, infrastructure and carbon emissions to identify efficient routes and locations for decarbonisation technologies.
Muir has applied this modelling to investigate the deployment of large-scale BECCS facilities, including the economic and practical feasibility of BECCS hubs in the North-West of England. His research has explored biomass supply chain constraints, competition for limited resources, infrastructure requirements and the challenges of scaling up carbon removal technologies. He has also examined how dispersed cement facilities could connect to national carbon capture and storage (CCS) infrastructure through pipelines, road, rail and shipping.
Research and policy experience
Before returning to the Tyndall Centre, Muir worked as a Senior Policy Adviser at the UK Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, specialising in international hydrogen trade.
His wider research experience includes decarbonising the UK’s glass, cement, energy and transport sectors, assessing low-carbon fuels, infrastructure reuse and circular economy supply chains. He has collaborated with government departments, local authorities, academic institutions and industrial partners to translate complex modelling into practical evidence for policy and investment decisions.
Muir’s contributions to BECCS research were recognised through the University of Manchester’s Making a Difference Award in 2023, for work demonstrating outstanding social innovation and environmental impact.
He holds a PhD in Environmental Engineering from the University of Manchester, an MSc in Carbon Management (Distinction) from the University of Edinburgh, and a BSc (Hons) in Geology from Royal Holloway, University of London.
Research Interests
- Economic modelling of net-zero buildings and the circular economy
- BuildZero and the economic costs of transforming UK building stock by 2050
- Bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS)
- Carbon dioxide removal and greenhouse gas removal technologies
- Industrial decarbonisation and carbon capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS)
- Techno-economic assessment, spatial modelling and digital twins
- Hydrogen, bioenergy and low-carbon infrastructure
- Resource efficiency, supply chains and climate policy
