We’re proud to share that Charlie Stephenson, Divisional Director at YUDU Sentinel, has successfully completed the Cyber Runway: NW Net Zero programme - a nationally significant accelerator designed to strengthen the UK’s cyber capability while supporting the transition to a secure, low-carbon economy.
Delivered by Plexal in partnership withLancaster University and funded by the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT), Cyber Runway is the UK’s largest cyber accelerator, supporting early-stage and scaling businesses across critical areas of cyber innovation and resilience. The NW Net Zero strand is a regional extension focused specifically on startups building solutions that secure the UK’s emerging green economy.
Securing the green economy through cyber innovation
Cyber Runway: NW Net Zero brings together startups working at the intersection of cybersecurity, critical infrastructure, and sustainability - including sectors such as clean energy, transport, manufacturing, and data infrastructure.
The programme exists to address a growing reality: as the UK accelerates toward net zero, the systems underpinning that transition are becoming increasingly digital, interconnected, and exposed to cyber risk. From smart energy grids to low-carbon transport networks, resilience is now a foundational requirement for sustainable growth.
The initiative is designed to:
- Enable collaboration between cyber startups and industry stakeholders in net zero sectors
- Accelerate product development through real-world challenge-led innovation
- Improve access to customers, investors, and regional ecosystems
- Strengthen the resilience of critical infrastructure supporting the green economy
A cohort focused on real-world impact
The NW Net Zero cohort brings together a diverse range of startups tackling challenges across cyber resilience, AI governance, transport innovation, and secure digital infrastructure.
Participants include organisations developing solutions in areas such as:
- Vulnerability management and software supply chain security
- SME-focused cyber protection and risk reduction
- Smart mobility and sustainable transport systems
- AI assurance, governance, and threat detection
- Cyber intelligence and insider risk mitigation
Together, these organisations reflect the programme’s mission: to build technologies that don’t just respond to today’s threats, but actively strengthen the foundations of tomorrow’s low-carbon economy.
What the programme delivers
Cyber Runway: NW Net Zero provides participants with a structured pathway from validation to growth, including:
- Direct engagement with net zero industry stakeholders
- Co-creation workshops focused on real operational challenges
- Mentorship from experienced founders and technical specialists
- Investor and commercial introductions
- Peer collaboration across the North West cyber ecosystem
This combination of technical guidance, commercial exposure, and ecosystem building is designed to help startups move faster from concept to market adoption.
YUDU Sentinel’s role in resilient infrastructure
For YUDU Sentinel, participation in the Cyber Runway ecosystem reflects a broader commitment to ensuring organisations can continue operating and communicating in the face of disruption.
Our Sentinel platform is built around the principle of resilience - enabling secure access to critical documents and communications even during cyber incidents or major infrastructure outages.
As digital systems become more embedded in essential services, resilience is no longer optional. It is a prerequisite for trust, continuity, and national infrastructure stability.
Leadership in action
Charlie Stephenson’s completion of the programme reflects both personal leadership and YUDU Sentinel’s continued investment in innovation at the intersection of cybersecurity and critical infrastructure.
Engagement in Cyber Runway has provided valuable insight into the evolving challenges facing organisations operating in net zero-aligned sectors - particularly where cyber risk, operational continuity, and sustainability converge.
Looking ahead
As the UK continues to scale investment in clean energy, smart infrastructure, and digital transformation, programmes like Cyber Runway: NW Net Zero play a vital role in ensuring security keeps pace with innovation.
YUDU Sentinel is proud to contribute to this ecosystem and remains committed to building solutions that strengthen resilience across the systems that underpin the UK’s green future.
