The success of the ECR Net Zero Conference, held in March and delivered in collaboration with 15 partner organisations, reached far beyond our immediate community. It has been fantastic to see the event’s impact continue through new partnerships, shared learning and ongoing innovation. The conference highlighted the value of collaboration in tackling complex sustainability challenges, proving that by working together we can achieve far greater impact.
In this guest blog, Ammar Ahmed Wafad shares his insights and experiences from the conference and his achievements following it. Ammar is the founder of Nortum Ltd and holds an MSc in Sustainable Energy Engineering from Nottingham Trent University, following industry experience in oilfield services with Schlumberger. His research applies open-source computational modelling to industrial decarbonisation, and his current work looks at artificial intelligence for energy systems.
In March 2026, I attended the ECR Net Zero Conference in Birmingham, where I presented my poster, “Techno-economic study of integrated wind hydrogen and combined heat and power microgrids for Teesside industrial net zero”. It was my first time presenting at a Supergen event, and the breadth of research in the room was one of the first things that struck me. I expected to spend most of the day talking about my own work, but found myself learning just as much from the research and perspectives of others.
My research develops a PyPSA-based techno-economic model of an integrated wind, hydrogen and combined heat and power system for an industrial site within the Teesside industrial cluster. The model brings electricity, hydrogen and heat together as one system and simulates how they interact over a full year. It also develops an Economic Viability Roadmap, showing how existing UK mechanisms, from hydrogen production support to capital funding, can close the gap between technical feasibility and investment. Although, the engineering may be feasible, but financing is where the case is hardest to make. Rather than assuming that new mechanisms are needed, the roadmap examines how existing support can be combined to make projects investable.
The conference quickly became a series of conversations with researchers, industry representatives and professionals working in energy and climate policy. Several discussions focused on the commercial side of the model, particularly private wire supply and how an integrated microgrid could be monetised to support the futuristic UK-centric policy development for industrial decarbonisation. These conversations made me think beyond the model itself and about how a system like this could actually work on an industrial site. Some of those conversations have continued since the conference.
The work has also continued to develop since the event. The full paper was presented at the World Renewable Energy Congress in February 2026 and has since been invited to a special issue of Energy for Sustainable Development, with an extended version currently under peer review. The modelling framework is also being prepared for release as an open source repository, and I will share it with the Supergen community once it is available, so that others can run it and build on it to unlock its wider impact.
My current work builds on these interests through artificial intelligence for energy systems, including AI-based digital twins, and by applying similar modelling approaches to the growing energy demands of data centres.
I am grateful to the organisers and everyone who took the time to engage with my poster. I look forward to continuing these conversations at future Supergen events.
This work is co-authored with Dr. Farooq Sher at Nottingham Trent University, together with Dr. Martin Khzouz, and Dr. Alexandra Ioannou, to whom I am grateful.
Sometimes, it’s worth stopping and asking a simple question:
“What have we been doing all these years?”
This blog started as exactly that.
We’ve been talking a lot about AI recently, as has everyone, and it’s easy to feel like it’s something new that’s suddenly arrived. But, for the Supergen community, that isn’t quite true.
As an experiment, we decided to pull together 36 papers from 11 of our Co Investigators, covering more than two decades of research. With the plan, to not only look back to see within AI what we had been doing, but to identify the knowledge and experience across the team.
Instead of us trying to summarise 20+ years of research, we decided as this was a look into research involving AI to let an LLM have a go at collating all our work.
We asked the LLM to “assess all the AI papers from the team and create a story of AI research within the Supergen team before AI was as prevalent as it is now.”
We didn’t want anything too polished. Just a sense of whether it could spot patterns, make connections, and reflect something meaningful back to us.
What came out was surprisingly clear and created a narrative of the research and collective expertise of the Supergen team.
We are sharing the story that it gave back….
So, leaving LLM’s “voice” and returning to ours, what can we actually take away from this?
We haven’t suddenly started doing AI. We’ve been doing it, in different forms, under different names, for a long time. The current prevalence of AI just makes it more visible.
What the LLM did well was connect those pieces. It gave us a quick way to zoom out and see the bigger picture across years of work that previously had not been connected both to AI today and within members of the team.
The real value is that it enabled us to step back and recognise the connections that were already there and pull together a great narrative for our research.
It can feel like AI is all of a sudden everywhere, but the reassurance is that:
“For this team, it’s been part of the story all along.”
As part of the EPSRC Supergen Energy Networks Hub’s mission to accelerate the transition to net zero, engaging with international research and innovation communities is key to amplifying impact. The IEEE PES ISGT Europe 2025 conference, themed “Harnessing Innovation: Powering a Sustainable and Resilient Future”, provided a valuable platform to connect our interdisciplinary work with global advances in smart grid technologies and energy system resilience. Bringing together leaders from academia, industry, and policy, the event closely reflected the Hub’s focus on delivering scalable, integrated, and future-ready energy networks. In this blog, Dr Laiz Souto reflects on her experience delivering a Special Session, with other Supergen colleagues and contributing to discussions shaping the future of clean energy systems.
Blog by Dr Laiz Souto
Last week we had the pleasure to attend the IEEE PES ISGT Europe 2025 conference in Valletta, Malta, and host a Special Session presenting our EPSRC Supergen Energy Networks Hub research. It was a great opportunity to meet old and new colleagues from academia and industry and discuss the latest advancements in grid modernisation toward clean power and net zero in the UK and internationally.
The IEEE PES ISGT Europe conference is a world-leading event focused on power grid modernization and the application of ICT to enhance energy systems, with an emphasis on integrating renewable and distributed energy resources. This year’s conference theme was “Harnessing Innovation: Powering a Sustainable and Resilient Future”. The programme featured keynotes, plenary sessions, special panel sessions, influential industry representatives, industry exhibits and presentations, technical sessions, and a job fair on smart grid innovations.
Our Special Session, titled “Accelerating, Scaling and Impacting Energy Networks for a Sustainable and Resilient Future”, showcased key research outputs and outcomes from within the Hub. It was chaired by Dr Laiz Souto (University of Bath) and featured an overview about the Hub plus six invited talks from the team, namely:
1- Advanced state estimation for situational awareness in multi-vector energy systems by Dr Dragan Cetenovic (University of Manchester)
2- The impact of increasing renewables on cascading failures in power systems by Prof Robin Preece (University of Manchester)
3- Whole system approaches for resilient low carbon energy networks by Dr David Greenwood (Newcastle University)
4- Navigating policy, regulation and planning of UK energy networks by Dr Richard Oduro (University of Leeds)
5- Measuring climate resilience in energy regulation by Dr Natalia Zografou-Barredo (Newcastle University)
6- Planning multi-energy networks for net-zero futures by Dr Muditha Abeysekera (Cardiff University and Energy Systems Catapult)
The presentations highlighted the interdisciplinary nature of our research with perspectives from across the four work packages and three missions toward clean energy network solutions. Each presentation was followed by questions from the audience and a final panel discussion to increase interactions.
All in all, hosting this Special Session was well worth the time and effort. Our preparations paid off very well as we had a great time presenting our research and enjoying the rest of the conference and the location. Our IEEE PES ISGT Europe 2025 conference experience as part of a team will be unforgettable!
Learn more about our research
ECR Net Zero Conference 2026
Early Career Researcher Jinning Zhang , a lecturer in Aerospace Engineering at the University of Leicester and a member of the Supergen Energy Networks Hub (SEN) Early Career Researcher Committee recently supported the planning and development of the ECR Net Zero Conference 2026. The conference, held in Birmingham in March, was led by the Supergen Energy Networks and Supergen Bioenergy hubs and was sponsored by 16 EPSRC funded energy research projects. The two day event brought together over 180 attendees and showcased exceptional cross-hub community building and interdisciplinary engagement. Jinning- a member of the SEN ECR Committee, along with ECR’s from across all 16 research projects played a central role in designing the full agenda, contributed to planning, and chaired parallel sessions focused on low carbon technologies and infrastructure. This ECR-led model exemplified meaningful participation and ownership, reinforcing the importance of empowering emerging researchers to shape the direction and culture of the wider energy research community.
As an ECR, being part of the planning and delivery of a conference session was both challenging and genuinely rewarding.
Planning the session meant thinking carefully about balance, bringing together speakers from academia, industry, and policy to shape a programme that felt both diverse and well connected. It provided a valuable opportunity to build confidence in reaching out and in designing a session that would be inclusive and engaging for a wide audience.
Session chairing on the day was fast paced but energising. Keeping everything on track while encouraging discussion helped us develop skills we don’t often use in day-to-day research. The conversations were a real highlight, seeing different perspectives connecting in a way that felt genuinely collaborative rather than siloed.
The conference truly created a strong sense of community. Across keynotes, parallel sessions, training, and posters, there were plenty of opportunities for ECRs to share their work and connect with others. It brought together researchers, industry, and funders in a way that encouraged open exchange and showed the value of working collaboratively to tackle shared challenges in the transition to a just and sustainable net zero future
“It offered us a unique opportunity to step beyond our usual research and contribute to shaping open, collaborative dialogue”
Learn more about Supergen Energy Networks Hub ECR Committee and ECR Opportunities
Alicia Terrero Gonzalez: DINAME conference
Research Fellow at the National Decommissioning Centre Dr Alicia Terrero Gonzalez recently shared her work “Dynamics of a nonlinear shallow-draft floating offshore wind turbines and its towing operations” at the prestigious International Symposium on Dynamic Problems of Mechanics (DINAME 2025). The DINAME conference is organized biennially by the Committee of Dynamics of ABCM, the Brazilian Society of Mechanical Sciences and Engineering. Alicia was invited to present her industry-academia collaborative research at the 2025 conference, which took place in Águas de Lindoia, São Paulo, Brazil, in March.
Since 1986, DINAME has attracted the active participation of scientists, academics, graduate students, and engineers from Brazil and various other countries to share, discuss, and present the recent developments and state-of-the-art techniques related to dynamic problems. Alicia’s attendance at the conference was sponsored by The National Decommissioning Centre (NDC) and SEN Hub, which actively promotes research on energy transition, interdisciplinary collaboration, and industry-academia partnerships to drive the Net Zero transition. The hub is part of the Supergen Programme, which is funded by UK Research and Innovation (UKRI). The SEN Hub aims to advance the transition to a low-carbon, sustainable energy system by focusing on innovations in Net Zero whole systems, large scale energy networks and regional distribution systems.
“It was great to once again attend this high-profile conference to develop meaningful connections, explore areas for collaborative opportunity and to hear the latest research in this field. I am grateful for the funding I received from the SEN Hub and would encourage others to apply if they get the opportunity”.
The conference paper can be viewed here – https://abcm.org.br/proceedings/view/DIN2025/0161 (available to conference delegates only) and the SEN Hub website can be found here – https://supergenen.org/
More information on the conference can behttps://abcm.org.br/proceedings/view/DIN2025/0161 found here – Welcome – DINAME 2025 – XX INTERNATIONAL SYMPOSIUM ON DYNAMIC PROBLEMS OF MECHANICS
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Dr Dimitri Costa presentation at ICOVP/WMVC 2025
Research Fellow at the University of Aberdeen Dr Dimitri Costa recently shared his work “Non-invasive control of a coupled pair of parametric pendulum for sea-wave energy generation” at the prestigious International Conference on Vibration Problems and International Conference of Wave Mechanics and Vibrations ICOVP/WMVC 2025. The conference is organised biannually, most recently by the Institute of Mechanical Engineering of the Instituto Superior Técnico of the University of Lisbon and by the Department of Civil Engineering of the Nova School of Science and Technology.
Since 1990, ICOVP has attracted the active participation of scientists, academics, graduate students, and engineers from various countries to share, discuss, and present the recent developments and state-of-the-art techniques related to wave mechanics and vibration problems, and has been held in numerous parts of the globe, including India, Turkey, Greece, Portugal and Qatar
Dimitri was invited to present his research on enhancing the efficiency of green energy devices alongside other panellists focusing on renewable energy systems in September 2025 at Caparica, Lisbon, Portugal.
Dr Costa’s attendance was sponsored by the University of Aberdeen (UoA) and SEN Hub, which actively promotes research on energy transition, interdisciplinary collaboration, and industry-academia partnerships to drive the Net Zero transition. The hub is part of the Supergen Programme, which is funded by UK Research and Innovation (UKRI). The SEN Hub aims to advance the transition to sustainable energy and low-carbon emissions by focusing on innovations and collaborations in Net Zero systems, bridging the distance between innovation and impactful applications.
“Funding from the SEN Hub is a great opportunity for early-career researchers who want to establish their own network of collaborations and disseminate their work”
Dr Costa stated after the conference:
“The conference was a great avenue to strengthen some connections and create new meaningful ones, especially with researchers interested in offshore technologies. This was only possible due to the funding received from the SEN Hub. This is a great opportunity for early-career researchers who want to establish their own network of collaborations and disseminate their work. I would highly recommend others to apply for this funding opportunity”.
More information on the conference can be found here – https://www.icovp-wmvc.com/
The abstract of the presentation can be found here: https://docentes.fct.unl.pt/zdim/files/284.pdf
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Energy Networks, Justice & Vulnerability
Energy networks need to evolve quickly to meet UK government energy and climate targets. The UK Government have launched a “Clean Power Mission” to deliver at least 95% low carbon electricity generation by 2030. At the same time, more electricity will be required for newly deployed heat pumps and electric vehicles to meet the UK’s climate commitments. Achieving these goals will require expanding some energy networks (electricity and heat in particular), while scaling down or changing the use of others (gas).
“An estimated 13% of UK households live in fuel poverty”
At the same time, energy poverty and vulnerability in the UK require urgent attention. Some of those households are especially vulnerable (older persons, people with poor health, people on very low incomes and those in poor quality housing).
These groups struggle to cope with sudden increases in energy prices or supply disruptions and face challenges accessing essential energy services, such as heating or cooling, impacting health and well-being. Upgrading networks as part of the clean power mission could play a role in reducing costs and alleviating pressures on vulnerable households, but they may also be disproportionately exposed to disruption associated with the transition.
How do energy networks currently exacerbate poverty and vulnerability?
Network investment and maintenance is paid for through standing charges on bills, a fixed daily amount which is paid irrespective of the amount of energy used. As highlighted by National Energy Action, low-income households often spend less than average on energy and so a higher proportion of what they pay goes towards these standing charges. These charges are particularly problematic for those on prepayment meters, who may have to pay a backlog of such charges before being able to access gas and electricity.
Those living in more remote areas, for example, those living off the gas network are more likely to be fuel poor. These groups often have access to less reliable network services. Growing digitalisation of how people engage with energy could exacerbate vulnerability, for those who lack technical literacy.
How could Net-Zero Energy Networks help to Reduce Energy Vulnerability?
Developing networks that can support the UK’s climate commitments could help to address energy poverty and vulnerability in multiple ways. However, if changes to energy networks are not carefully managed, they could risk exacerbating energy poverty and vulnerability, both through financing evolution and maintenance of networks, and through limiting options that the energy poor and vulnerable have in the transition.
Improved electricity networks can enable widespread heat pump and electric vehicle deployment. This would make household heat and transport costs dependent on the cost of electricity rather than the cost of gas and petrol. As we move to a more renewable electricity system, this will enable households to benefit from lower cost renewable energy de-coupled from the price of fossil fuels.
Heat networks in urban areas can provide lower cost heat to households and businesses where waste heat is available. Government-owned social housing, home to some less affluent households, may be particularly suitable for heat networks, owing to density of households and greater simplicity of contractual arrangements.
There could also be opportunities for energy poor and vulnerable households to be financially rewarded for reducing energy use in ways that support decarbonisation and reduce strains on networks. For example, uptake of energy efficiency measures (eg. home insulation) could reduce overall heat demand.
This could allow smaller heat pumps to be installed, and reduce the need to upgrade some electricity networks. This would mean lower upgrade costs for network operators. With appropriate financial mechanisms, some of those reduced costs could be passed on to customers in the form of electricity bill reductions. Some electricity network operators already offer bill reductions for customers who change times of electricity use to those when networks are not constrained, but these schemes could be broadened to encompass a wider range of measures to reduce energy demand, or become more targeted towards vulnerable households.
How could net-zero energy networks exacerbate energy vulnerability?
However, the benefits of net-zero energy networks may not be available to all, and the costs may not be shared fairly. Those living in rented properties may not have the ability to install heat pumps or electric vehicle chargers to make use of upgraded networks, and those living in flats or houses without off street parking may be unable to benefit from network upgrades to facilitate electric vehicle charging.
Whilst heat networks offer the potential for lower heating costs in social housing, careful regulation is required to avoid overcharging where households rely on this network as their sole source of heat.
If households are unable to use electricity flexibly, flexible tariffs could result in higher costs (eg. those on ventilators, or at home all day). Lack of choice could be particularly problematic for those with limited flexibility, whose options may already be disproportionately constrained.
Without adequate regulation, less affluent households could overcontribute to upgrade and maintenance costs of energy networks to accommodate switching from gas to electricity. More affluent households are transitioning to electric heat pumps and disconnecting from the gas grid. Fewer households attached to the gas grid means that maintenance costs are spread across fewer (less affluent) households, leading to increased standing charges. At the same time, costs of upgrading networks to accommodate more heat pumps are spread across standing charges of all households, including those with gas boilers. Whilst not permitted by current regulation, the gas grid may also be deprioritised for investment and maintenance in the longer term, which could mean less reliable heat for the energy poor who remain connected.
What are the opportunities and challenges around justice in energy network transitions?
Developing procedures that provide opportunities for meaningful input from diverse parties affected by changes to energy networks can help to avoid exacerbating inequalities in the energy transition. Such procedures are particularly important in energy network development, because of the role that networks play in enabling and constraining future options for energy infrastructure.
Local authorities typically consider supporting these members of the community as a key part of their remit. However, some local authorities have highlighted a lack of meaningful engagement of communities as a limitation in current local area energy planning processes. This could lead to a lack of trust in future low carbon energy transitions. The Oldham Net Zero Accelerator, a partnership between the local authority and community energy organization to deliver a local energy transitions whilst fostering community participation to ensure local social, economic environmental benefits, represents an innovative approach to overcoming this challenge.
For energy networks, distribution of future patterns of supply and demand may look different if they are based upon community priorities (e.g. maximising community wealth by installing generation and EV charging facilities on community buildings). If these issues are not considered in network plans, it may not be possible to connect these projects.
Beyond unjust outcomes of a transition, failing to properly take account of procedural and representational justice in the energy transition could jeopardise efforts to deliver the government’s Clean Power mission. Early intimations of this are visible in local resistance to deployment of electricity transmission infrastructure on the East coast. Whilst central government intervention could help to overcome legal challenges in the short term, broader engagement is necessary to deliver the broader net zero transition.
Blog Post: Sheridan Few, Peter Taylor, Richard Oduro, Caitlin Robinson and Lucie Middlemiss
What next?
Through the Supergen Energy Networks project, and in collaboration with the Fair Energy Futures research community, we are planning to further explore issues around energy networks, vulnerability, poverty, and energy justice. In doing so, to highlight challenges and examples of good practice, and to chart a route forward for energy networks capable of delivering net zero, whilst maximising opportunities to address existing inequalities and adhering to principles of energy justice.
If these themes are of interest we would love to hear from you, and would encourage you to sign up for our workshop, location and date TBC.
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How could net-zero energy networks exacerbate energy vulnerability?
However, the benefits of net-zero energy networks may not be available to all, and the costs may not be shared fairly. Those living in rented properties may not have the ability to install heat pumps or electric vehicle chargers to make use of upgraded networks, and those living in flats or houses without off street parking may be unable to benefit from network upgrades to facilitate electric vehicle charging.
Whilst heat networks offer the potential for lower heating costs in social housing, careful regulation is required to avoid overcharging where households rely on this network as their sole source of heat.
If households are unable to use electricity flexibly, flexible tariffs could result in higher costs (eg. those on ventilators, or at home all day). Lack of choice could be particularly problematic for those with limited flexibility, whose options may already be disproportionately constrained.
Without adequate regulation, less affluent households could overcontribute to upgrade and maintenance costs of energy networks to accommodate switching from gas to electricity. More affluent households are transitioning to electric heat pumps and disconnecting from the gas grid. Fewer households attached to the gas grid means that maintenance costs are spread across fewer (less affluent) households, leading to increased standing charges. At the same time, costs of upgrading networks to accommodate more heat pumps are spread across standing charges of all households, including those with gas boilers. Whilst not permitted by current regulation, the gas grid may also be deprioritised for investment and maintenance in the longer term, which could mean less reliable heat for the energy poor who remain connected.
What are the opportunities and challenges around justice in energy network transitions?
Developing procedures that provide opportunities for meaningful input from diverse parties affected by changes to energy networks can help to avoid exacerbating inequalities in the energy transition. Such procedures are particularly important in energy network development, because of the role that networks play in enabling and constraining future options for energy infrastructure.
Local authorities typically consider supporting these members of the community as a key part of their remit. However, some local authorities have highlighted a lack of meaningful engagement of communities as a limitation in current local area energy planning processes. This could lead to a lack of trust in future low carbon energy transitions. The Oldham Net Zero Accelerator, a partnership between the local authority and community energy organization to deliver a local energy transitions whilst fostering community participation to ensure local social, economic environmental benefits, represents an innovative approach to overcoming this challenge.
For energy networks, distribution of future patterns of supply and demand may look different if they are based upon community priorities (e.g. maximising community wealth by installing generation and EV charging facilities on community buildings). If these issues are not considered in network plans, it may not be possible to connect these projects.
Beyond unjust outcomes of a transition, failing to properly take account of procedural and representational justice in the energy transition could jeopardise efforts to deliver the government’s Clean Power mission. Early intimations of this are visible in local resistance to deployment of electricity transmission infrastructure on the East coast. Whilst central government intervention could help to overcome legal challenges in the short term, broader engagement is necessary to deliver the broader net zero transition.
Blog Post: Sheridan Few, Peter Taylor, Richard Oduro, Caitlin Robinson and Lucie Middlemiss
Communities a key part of research work
These communities previously relied on generator sets, that would provide electricity for 2 – 4 hours a day. Now with the microgrid, they can get nearly 24 hours a day electricity for their current loads from their local resources. It’s not a formal grid structure. But it’s safe, it meets local regulations and standards, and there is pragmatism in the design. The team know that to get the same service we would expect from the distribution network would just cost too much, for very little benefit. So, they have worked closely with the communities to help them work with the limitations of the system. The communities are a key part of this research work, supporting with the system monitoring, able to make small fixes when failures happen, and have really invested into the system.
For communities, their new energy network has enabled them to do so much more. They can process their own produce, fruit such as açai berries, at a much lower cost, increasing their income. I met a woman who used the internet and mobile communication that the DC microgrid offered to take orders and sell her artisan crafts directly to customers locally and nationally. Households were able to make, consume, and sell fruit lollipops made from locally grown fruits (which, by the way are absolutely delicious!).
Using refrigerators and freezers, they could keep food for longer, save rather than throw away excess cooked food, and some even had developed small food-based businesses. The electric boat enabled households to reduce their dependency on gasoline, using local energy instead, and provided a clean and quieter way to travel. And community spaces could provide music, video and ventilation to support community events and building cohesion amongst households.
Picture: Getting ready to sleep in a hammock in Ilha do Pacoca.
So, maybe the question shouldn’t be what is an energy network? Instead, it should be, what can an energy network do?
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System of Systems Architecture
Supergen Energy Network Impact Hub is taking a mission approach to solving energy network challenges. This mission on ‘Energy Network Solutions for Net Zero Whole System Futures’. investigates System-of-System (SoS) architectures to support solving those problems. Dr Daniel Carr arranged an internal workshop to further develop research questions and work that can be completed in this area. Daniel is working in conjunction with Prof. Jianzhong Wu, Dr Muditha Abeysekera, Dr Shuai Yao, Dr Xun Jiang and Elliot O’Malley on the mission.
The objective of the workshop was to identify key players, stakeholders and challenges within energy networks and how taking a systems of systems architecture approach can solve the challenges posed by Net Zero energy networks.
SoS architecture is used to help manage, plan and operate complex systems made up of constituent interconnected systems. Currently the operation of gas, heat and electricity networks operate separately or with little coordination. Moving to multi-vector energy networks and managing the different vectors will require a SoS approach. The aim of Daniel’s project is to deliver systems engineering approaches to developing multi-vector energy networks to deliver efficient, secure, resilient and sustainable energy systems of the future.
Workshop
During the workshop multiple key challenges were identified facing energy networks including:
– Decarbonisation of heat
– Connection Queue Problem
– EV Charging infrastructure
– Energy Data
– Future Energy Markets
Many of these challenges are difficult to solve, but further work was done to identify some of the most pressing issues faced by the energy network on its trajectory to decarbonisation of the energy network. Two challenges were identified including ‘Decarbonisation of Heat’ and ‘Connection Queue Problem’.
The team took these problems and expanded the problem space further to identify the key stakeholders involved and the interactions between those stakeholders.
The decarbonisation of heat is of particular concern for GB as it is highly reliant on gas heating in the domestic and industrial sector. With the push for electrification of heat in the form of either district heating or home installed air source heat pumps. The electrification of heat will put further stress on the electricity system and require large amounts of investment in the reinforcement of the networks. Another challenge presented is the insulation of home, with heat pumps heating profile different to that of gas boilers, and lower operation temperatures, the insulation of the property will have a direct impact on the efficiency and performance of the heat pump.
Connection Queue Problem
The Energy connection queue problem is particularly difficult to solve. With a large amount of renewable energy generators waiting to connect to the grid slowing down the transition to Net Zero. The planning process is slow, and there are large backlogs waiting for connection due to network reinforcement being needed to allow these projects to connect to the grid. Identification of the key processes and stakeholders involved from planning, local and national government, energy supplies and consumers were carried out. A SoS approach to tackling this problem should be developed further. One of the key outcomes from the work was stakeholder mapping to show how different stakeholders interact and rely on each other to improve the overall efficiency and speed up of grid connections.
The workshop was able to identify many challenges posed by moving towards a Net Zero future and how using a SoS approach can help both solve and speed up these transitions.
The connection queue problem was selected to move forward within the mission with work starting on in-depth stakeholder and process mapping, as the subject lends itself to being considered through a SoS architecture approach.
The next stages of the work will be to engage with the members of the SEN Impact Advisory Committee to engage our industrial partners for developing the SoS architecture further and how it can be used for solving the complex problems of the connection queue and decarbonisation of heat.
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Last month, I had the pleasure of participating in the International Youth Conference on Energy (IYCE’24) held from 2 to 6 July 2024 in Colmar, France. I presented our paper, “Energy Efficiency and Optimal Operation of a Residential Microgrid Based on Demand Side Management Strategy”. This work presents a demand-side management approach based on load scheduling and peer-to-peer energy exchange. The strategy is applied to monthly energy data gathered from living labs installed in the Green & Smart Building Park (GSBP) in Benguerir, Morocco. Simulations conducted in the Matlab environment reveal a monthly energy savings of 59% and a 23% increase in the use of renewable energy resources.
The paper is co-authored with Oumaima MAHIR, Mohamed LAAMIM, Abdelilah ROCHD, Mohammed OUASSAID, and Hicham OUFETTOUL. It is performed under the INNO ESPAMAROC’s Green Grid project, funded by IRESEN (Research Institute for Solar Energy and New Energies). The paper is published in IEEE Xplore and is available at the following link: https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/abstract/document/10634959.
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