Energy networks refresh innovation strategies

The Energy Networks Association has refreshed its innovation strategies for the electricity and gas sectors and released a new one covering the energy system as a whole.

The industry body said the aim of the documents is to help outside organisations better understand networks’ priorities so they can effectively pitch innovative technologies and business models.

The strategies all cover five common themes:

• Consumer vulnerability
• Net zero and the energy transition
• Optimised assets and practices
• Flexibility and commercial evolution
• Whole energy system

Randolph Brazier, head of innovation and development at the ENA, said past projects have covered “elements” of the themes before, but there remain “gaps in all of them”. Taking consumer vulnerability as an example, Brazier said there have been “a couple of projects in this space” but “not many at all” when compared to the more than 2,000 projects in total that have taken place since 2004.

“That’s ultimately why these themes were chosen; because we may have done bits and pieces of them but we haven’t exhausted them,” he added.

ENA head of gas Matt Hindle said there is often overlap between the themes: “If you look at an issue like consumer vulnerability; that’s going to be a massive one for policy-makers and the sector as a whole in terms of how we protect vulnerable consumers, particularly the fuel poor as we transition to low-carbon heating systems, for example.

“So, there’s a real relationship between the net zero challenge, the whole-system challenge and the consumer vulnerability challenge and as policy and technology develop on low-carbon heating there are clearly going to be vulnerability challenges that we need to tackle along the way.”

“Clearly decarbonisation was a big challenge in the previous strategies as well, but as in pretty much every other area of our activity, the net zero target has upped the ante and given a new and ever stronger focus in that area,” Hindle remarked.

The ENA has also outlined five principles for delivering network innovation across these themes:

• Delivering customer benefits – ranging from efficiency savings and a better customer experience to the accelerated decarbonisation of our energy system.
• Providing opportunities for collaboration – projects should deliver shared learning and increase collaboration between network companies and the wider energy sector.
• Delivering a carbon impact – projects should have a positive impact on achieving the UK’s net zero emissions target whenever possible.
• Using data and inputs – the lessons of network innovation activity should be made available to all in a consistent and accessible format.
• Delivering scale and roll-out – innovation activity should deliver transformational change, identifying methods to scale up and roll out new practices, processes and technologies.

ENA chief executive David Smith commented: “From connecting ever greater levels of renewable energy to finding the new solutions we need for decarbonising heat and transport; our energy network infrastructure is already at the centre of delivering a world leading net zero economy.

“That role is set to grow, as that infrastructure takes on new responsibilities to deliver decarbonisation. We need to ensure our network infrastructure is future-ready, that our approach is transparent and accountable and that it is focussed as much on local needs as it is on national ones. The five principles set out in these strategies set out just how network innovation will do that.

“These strategies provide a clear pathway for Britain’s’ energy innovators to be part of that. They have been drafted with that in mind, following extensive consultation with a range of different groups across Britain’s energy sector.”