Navigating reconfiguration and disruption: Decarbonization pathways for UK industrial clusters

Industrial decarbonization is not a linear transition but a contested process of meta-system transformation, shaped by the interplay of system reconfiguration and system disruption. While reconfiguration involves modular adaptations, component substitutions, and architectural shifts, disruption unsettles industrial interdependencies, redrawing sectoral boundaries. Existing frameworks often treat these as separate pathways; we argue they are interwoven. By advancing meta-system transformation as a conceptual lens, we move beyond sectoral silos to capture how decarbonization reshapes industrial architectures. This perspective of transformation and disruption clarifies how transitions unfold, how they might accelerate, and how they can be steered toward structural change. Examining the UK's largest industrial clusters, we trace how decarbonization is unfolding across infrastructures, markets, and governance. While fuel switching, carbon capture, and electrification drive change at the plant level, the introduction of shared hydrogen and CO2 networks creates wider systemic disruptions. These shifts do not simply displace incumbents but restructure industrial coordination, and may reinforce new dependencies.