Case Studies

SEN have collaborated with our Impact partners to consider real-world energy networks challenges and include government influenced market and regulatory frameworks and policies to work on several impact case studies.

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National Centre for Decarbonisation of Heat – Tyseley Energy Park, Birmingham

Funded by the Department of Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, DLUHC, via the Levelling Up Fund – round 3, the National Centre for Decarbonisation of Heat, (NCDH)will be constructed at the Tyseley Energy Park, East Birmingham adjacent to the Birmingham Energy Innovation Centre.

It is targeted at accelerating delivery in the domestic heating sector, particularly where there are high levels of fuel poverty and poor levels of energy efficiency as judged by EPC standards. The Centre will act as a coordinating node for industry, local and combined authorities, academia, the third sector and community groups to aggregate learning through the delivery of at-scale housing retrofit programmes.   
The widespread installation of electric heat pump solutions will require significant grid reinforcement and the development of district heating systems will necessitate the development of heat networks that integrate waste heat sources such as industrial and energy from waste plants. Some heat networks will be driven by large heat pump facilities either sourcing heat from the air, ground or water. 

The development of heating zoning coordinators presents an interesting governance challenge and escalates the need for Local Area Energy Planning working with consumers and communities to understand anew set of challenges not previously encountered at grid scale.
The NCDH will help bring together partners and stakeholders for a comprehensive understanding as to how to deliver heating solutions at scale. It is designed with a range of features, including a large hangar containing two houses, one pre-retrofit and the other post-retrofit. These will both allow consumers to better understand what a low-carbon heating solution will look like in their home, but also for the delivery of retrofit to be optimised before implementing into people’s homes.

The second elements are a suite of training and certification facilities which will be used to train apprentices to deliver both low carbon heating and thermal energy efficiency solutions. The centre is designed also to act as a pathway for innovation which will allow new technologies developed both within universities but also by SMEs to have a pathway through to market. The construction of the NCDH is due to be completed in March 2026.  

Public Sector Energy Networks

SEN researchers have worked in close collaboration with the UK Cabinet Office, local DNOs, Energy Systems Catapult, energy managers of public sector organisations and local authorities to support ambitions to reduce carbon emissions across the public sector. SEN researchers at Cardiff University carried out translational research to develop decision support tools for planning and operation of energy systems of public sector sites, to reduce carbon emissions and energy costs. A spin-out company led by the SEN team at Cardiff University – Empowering Energy Solutions was incorporated to develop decision support tools to support the decarbonisation of public sector.  

Working with key stakeholders from Welsh Government, Energy Systems Catapult, Local Authorities, DNOs, Consultancies, Academia, the team’s work influenced investment decisions of Neath Port Talbot County borough council on local area energy planning and facility energy improvements and have leveraged further £100,000 research funding from UKRI to develop an Integrative Energy Data Platform for Accelerating Large Facility Energy Improvements.  

The work also influenced investment and operational decisions at NHS Estates at Rotherham hospital and Queen Elizabeth hospital (QEH), Kings Lynn. In one example, at QEH, SEN team demonstrated that 18% of energy cost saving and around 15% carbon saving were available by improving controls and the co-ordinated operation of the multi-energy system considering its grid interactions with the electricity and gas network. The work with NHS estates led to establishing future collaboration with the Institute of Healthcare Estate Energy Managers.  

LV Network Visibility

Researchers at the University of Bath have further extended the work to high-fidelity modelling for low-carbon technologies, primarily EVs. Spatiotemporal analysis of charging behaviour was used to model charging demand in granular detail with realistic assumptions, identifying potential vulnerabilities in the distribution network, and assessing the degree of misalignment with renewable energy.  

To fully realise the potential financial and environmental benefits, EV charging will be optimised over a range of spatial (e.g., town/city level, regional level and national level) and temporal scales (e.g., hour, day, week, month), and against different weather conditions and local demographics. 

The work can inform how charging optimisation and behaviour should evolve with increasing renewable penetration and changing mobility patterns, and the required upgrading in charging and electrical infrastructure. The knowledge will enable network operators to better understand how EVs will affect LV networks, how the impact would aggregate and propagate to higher voltage (HV, EHV) networks, supporting them with transformative network planning and operation practices. 

 

Following on from this research, the University of Bath have carried out a six-month feasibility study to assess the viability of a ‘digital spine’ concept for the UK energy system, in partnership with Arup and the Energy Systems Catapult. Furthermore, Bath’s extensive research in last-mile network visualisation, high-fidelity modelling and digitalisation has enabled a strategic partnership with NGED to be setup, with specific insights into low-carbon technologies modelling, asset management, network reliability and resilience. This partnership will enable Bath to work closely with NGED to develop transformative research that can help NGED, and more broadly UK electricity network operators, prepare and adapt to a low-carbon world by new technical, digital, and commercial solutions. 

International Research

The SEN team collaborate with colleagues outside of the UK including Southern Ireland, Europe, Sri Lanka and Africa.

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News and events

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Blog-Wei Gan

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Blog-Natalia Zografou Barredo

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Transitioning Power Systems to Net Zero

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