Towards a Net Zero Future
Watch on-demand until 18 January 2021
Supported by all ENA members:
If you would like to become an exhibitor please contact t.hewitt@venturebusiness.london
Agenda Highlights
Gas
- The safety case for the hydrogen transition: what can we learn from the UK’s key innovation projects?
- Facilitating the energy system transition: network operators’ views on the next steps
- Find out what asset optimisation technologies you could “plug and play” into other networks
- The UK’s plans for taking vulnerable customers on the net zero journey
Electricity
- Hear how networks are planning for the EV mass market
- TSO and DNO initiatives for building the flexibility markets of the future
- Engaging communities and customers as we decarbonise the energy system
- Asset optimisation game changers: a snapshot of the best NIC and NIA project outcomes
- Whole energy system approaches to the decarbonisation of heat and power
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digital content bubbles
The 2020 event is now available to view on demand until 18 January 2021. Watch your choice of over 15 bubbles of concise virtual content, and fill your digital swagbag with case studies and insights into new technologies.
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network innovation projects
The 2020 virtual event showcases the lessons learnt from over 60 of the UK’s top network innovation projects enabling key net zero transitions, including hydrogen, electric vehicles and flexibility markets.
£0
To register and attend
Register and log-in for free until 18 January 2021 to experience the UK’s flagship knowledge dissemination event for the electricity and gas energy network operators.

Who should attend?
Anyone involved in managing, developing or implementing innovations that will pave the way for our future
gas and electricity transmission and distribution networks, including:
- Distribution network/system operators (DNOs/DSOs)
- Transmission system operators (TSOs)
- Government and regulatory leaders
- Research organisations/universities
- Local authorities
- Technology providers
- OEMs
- SMEs and start-ups
- Service providers
- Energy developers/producers
- Energy consumers and associations
- Community energy organisations
The Line up
Agenda
DAY 1
Gas sessions
Welcome to ENIC 2020
Live ministerial address and Q&A
Keynote
What are we looking for in future NIC and NIA projects?
Keynote
The future direction of the UK’s energy system and the role of innovation
- What has been achieved over past 5 years on energy innovation
- What might be the priorities for the next 5 years
- How we can further drive collaboration and partnerships
Panel
Enabling net zero: decarbonising the energy system
- Open Networks and Gas Goes Green Project updates
- Interconnectivity, sector coupling and building the smart energy systems of the future
- Energy system transformation: what does this mean?
- The energy system transition: who pays?
- The role of the networks in transitioning to a net zero energy system
End of session
Visit our Exhibition and Innovation Halls for:
- New technologies on display
- Q&A with projects leaders on their companies’ stands
- Extra NIC and NIA project presentation videos available for download
Lunch
European perspectives
Greening our gas networks
Eva will talk you through some of the major hydrogen initiatives being undertaken by European gas networks, and the next steps on the horizon for scaling up the use of hydrogen across the continent.
Hydrogen keynote
The hydrogen transition: from pilot projects to large-scale decarbonisation
Dr Taylor will share a high level view of the UK’s hydrogen transition vision, our achievements so far and the roadmap to 2050.
H21: Pioneering a UK Hydrogen network
H21 is a suite of pioneering gas industry projects led by Northern Gas Networks, focused on demonstrating the existing UK gas grid can be repurposed to carry 100% hydrogen, to meet the 2050 objectives. Before the vision of a hydrogen gas network can be fully realised, the critical safety-based evidence for such a conversion, upstream and downstream of the meter, must be provided. Without it, a credible government policy decision on decarbonisation of heat cannot be made.
HyNTS: Roadmap to hydrogen
Find out more about our hydrogen challenge, the work we have carried out looking at regional options, hydrogen deblending and building the future safety case. This session will give an overview of the next steps in our hydrogen journey and our broader hydrogen roadmap.
The role of the Local Transmission System (LTS) in a net zero future
The LTS Futures programme is designed to develop the safety, technical and practical evidence to support the use of hydrogen in the LTS. The research work proposed, underpins many aspects of the decarbonised pathway. The work will:
- Will provide evidence informing network safety to determine the suitability of LTS network assets for hydrogen
- Provide the technical input to ensure the decarbonisation of industrial clusters can be delivered
- Define the role of LTS in system transformation and the impact on hydrogen roll-out and the green recovery
Positive results from the UK’s first grid-injected hydrogen pilot: HyDeploy
HyDeploy is a pioneering hydrogen energy project designed to help reduce UK CO2 emissions and reach the Government’s net zero target for 2050. As the first ever live demonstration of hydrogen in homes, HyDeploy aims to prove that blending up to 20% volume of hydrogen with natural gas is a safe and greener alternative to the gas we use now. It is providing evidence on how customers do not have to change their cooking or heating appliances to take the blend, which means less disruption and cost for them. It is also confirming initial findings that customers do not notice any difference when using the hydrogen blend.
End of session
Visit our Exhibition and Innovation Halls for:
- New technologies on display
- Q&A with projects leaders on their companies’ stands
- Extra NIC and NIA project presentation videos available for download
Visit the Networking Lounge to join group chats on:
A. Emobility: what do the networks need to do to enable the electrification of transport?
B. The hydrogen transition: how are we building confidence in the safety case?
C. Funding operational efficiency innovations
D. Innovation in ED2
H100 Fife
Hybrid-Hydrogen (HyHy): Decarbonisation of heat, power and transport
The hybrid hydrogen project explores how a ‘hybrid first’ strategy can decarbonise heat in cities faster than alternatives and how hydrogen can be deployed away from the main focus areas in the north of England. The project explored the production of hydrogen, with the carbon dioxide being transported by ship for use or storage. Centred on Cardiff, the project compliments the South Wales Industrial Cluster, with the results providing a decarbonisation solution for heat, industry, power generation and heavy transport. It examined the optimal solution for hydrogen production capacity and storage as well as comparing hydrogen solutions to the mass deployment of heat pumps. As a bonus, the project has generated the concept of hydrogen ‘daughter’ locations, such as England’s hydrogen Riviera, linking deep water ports by tankers, bringing hydrogen to parts of the country earlier than planned.
A cleaner, greener gas network: OptiNet
The OptiNet project is a collaboration between Cadent, Wales & West Utilities and PassivSystems. OptiNet aims to investigate ways of decarbonising the UK’s gas networks by introducing more green gases. The project will review several solutions to create capacity in the network to allow additional biomethane plants or other distributed gas generation to connect and flow, even in the lowest demand periods.
Tools of Engagement: aiding regional authorities in the journey to net zero
- A toolkit and simplified version of Pathfinder Plus, our whole energy systems model
- Enables Local Area Energy Planning to meet any net zero target
- Uses real profiles of energy consumption and electricity generation
- Provides a ‘fair share’ of national energy assets to build upon with local supply and demand options
- Supports development of a low regrets action pathway for heat, power and transport
- Gives total average household energy bill and estimated blackout hours for each scenario modelled
Emissions monitoring and reduction
Find out about the work we have been carrying out to more effectively monitor and reduce the emissions from our day-to-day operational activities. An overview of two emissions related innovation projects: Monitoring of Real-time Fugitive Emissions (MoRFE), which looks at developing a cost-effective continuous fugitive emission detection system and CH4RGE, a project that looks at reducing methane emissions from rotating gas equipment.
Panel
What are the next steps in facilitating the energy system transition?
- The decarbonisation of heavy vehicles: what needs to happen next?
- Industrial clusters: how can the networks assist in scaling up decarbonisation efforts?
- What will the future of heat look like in Britain and how will we get there?
End of session
Electricity sessions
Welcome to ENIC 2020
David Smith, Chief Executive, Energy Networks AssociationLive ministerial address and Q&A
Keynote
What are we looking for in future NIC and NIA projects?
Keynote
The future direction of the UK’s energy system and the role of innovation
- What has been achieved over past 5 years on energy innovation
- What might be the priorities for the next 5 years
- How we can further drive collaboration and partnerships
Panel
Enabling net zero: decarbonising the energy system
- Open Networks and Gas Goes Green Project updates
- Interconnectivity, sector coupling and building the smart energy systems of the future
- Energy system transformation: what does this mean?
- The energy system transition: who pays?
- The role of the networks in transitioning to a net zero energy system
End of session
Visit our Exhibition and Innovation Halls for
- New technologies on display
- Q&A with projects leaders on their companies’ stands
- Extra NIC and NIA project presentation videos available for download
Lunch
Probabilistic assessments in forecasting for network planning: focus on EV charging uncertainties
This presentation is on probabilistic assessments in forecasting used for network planning with a particular focus on EV charging uncertainties. Just a few years before we expect to see a significant number of EVs on the road, the main headaches for network planners are the uncertainties involved in EV charging, such as whether they will be charged at home, work or en route and at what capacities. These uncertainties can be better captured using probabilistic assessments as we do in our Reflect NIA project, providing useful cost and risk insights to network planners.
Our EV uptake journey: CHARGE, EV-UP and PACE
The uptake of electric vehicles is something we know must happen now. We see the role of the DNO in enabling it while also preparing ourselves for the network impact and focusing on maintaining our network reliability. In this presentation, we will present an overview of our work in supporting the delivery of EV charging infrastructure, here and now, while also looking ahead to how we can best anticipate and enable regional uptake across our license areas in the future. This will cover key work across three critical projects in our portfolio:
DC-Share and Take Charge: innovating for a cost effective EV charging infrastructure
DC Share is a £5.6 Million NIC project that is being delivered by Western Power Distribution, Ricardo, Turbo Power Systems, Electricity North West and Vectos. It will design and trial an innovative meshed DC network to balance the local distribution network and combine latent transformer capacity and utilise it for rapid car charging. We will be sharing an overview of the project as well as our progress to date. Our innovative 'Take Charge' NIA project aims to make rapid charging at service stations quicker and easier for both service station operators and customers while saving tens of millions of pounds. It involves designing, testing and trialling a 'one size fits all’ compact solution ensuring that service station customers can simultaneously charge their vehicles at peak times. Find out about the initial findings from the project including the work on site selection, system capacity and design.
Electric Vehicles: preparing networks for EV ready roads
Projecting highly localised EV uptake scenarios and addressing regional challenges through innovation, looking at the E Tourism and Local Electric Vehicle Energy Loop (LEVEL) projects.
End of session
Visit our Exhibition and Innovation Halls for
- New technologies on display
- Q&A with projects leaders on their companies’ stands
- Extra NIC and NIA project presentation videos available for download
Visit the Networking Lounge for group chats on:
a. Emobility: what do the networks need to do to enable the electrification of transport?
b. The hydrogen transition: how are we building confidence in the safety case?
c. Funding operational efficiency innovations
d. Innovation in ED2
TRANSITION: tailoring flexibility to the needs of the market
DNO led flexibility market development can be driven by a combination of network needs, technology growth/availability and socio-political pressures. This is resulting in geographical diversity in the maturity of markets across both local and national levels. This is a natural process in market progression and is the reason products and prices of a single good/service may vary within a given area (local, national, international).
FUSION
SP Energy’s project FUSION is actively working to unlock flexibility through aggregator participation in the flexibility market. By facilitating this structured and competitive market, based on the Universal Smart Energy Framework (USEF), network flexibility will be accessible to a much wider range of participants. The creation of a flexibility market will go beyond existing bilateral trading of flexibility, providing a whole systems approach to realising the value of flexibility. Project lead, Michael Green, will discuss the progression of the project and highlight some key learning from the journey so far.
Power Potential project for reactive power service provision from DERs
Power Potential is a TSO/DSO innovation project between National Grid ESO and UK Power Networks, enabling distributed energy resources (DERs) connected to the distribution grid to provide reactive power transmission services to the ESO. It focuses on the dynamic voltage support that can be obtained from the DERs and the associated provision of a ‘reactive power service’ to help manage transmission voltage constraints. The core of the project is a new IT control platform which facilitates the communication and control of DERs connected to networks, supporting the technical and market solution. We will be sharing the design of the project trials to validate both the technical and commercial framework.
Closer to real time procurement- initial findings of Auction Trial Phase 2
The weekly auction trial is a two-year innovation project which is designed to test the hypothesis that closer to real-time procurement will lower the barrier for non-traditional participants, increase market liquidity, and reduce overall balancing costs via weekly pay-as-clear auctions. This presentation will outline the project brief, comparisons between innovative weekly frequency response market and traditional monthly market, ESO’s learning points so far and the plan for next steps.
Distributed ReStart: demonstration phase, shedding light on our findings and setting the scene for delivery
We have now passed our halfway point and are entering the ‘demonstration phase’ on the Distributed ReStart project. Learn about our progress and findings on:
- Designing the technical, organisational, systems and telecommunications solutions to be tested in live trials
- Reviewing the range of codes, policies, and standards
- Learning about the development and implementation of the automated Distributed Restart Zone Controller
Speed panel
Accelerating flexibility markets: next steps
- What can we learn from these innovation projects that can be taken into future programmes?
- New initiatives that require planning in the near to mid-term
- Unanswered questions around how flexibility markets will be brough to maturity UK
End of session
Special sessions
Welcome to ENIC 2020
Live ministerial address and Q&A
Keynote
What are we looking for in future NIC and NIA projects?
Keynote
The future direction of the UK’s energy system and the role of innovation
- What has been achieved over past 5 years on energy innovation
- What might be the priorities for the next 5 years
- How we can further drive collaboration and partnerships
Panel
Enabling net zero: decarbonising the energy system
- Open Networks and Gas Goes Green Project updates
- Interconnectivity, sector coupling and building the smart energy systems of the future
- Energy system transformation: what does this mean?
- The energy system transition: who pays?
- The role of the networks in transitioning to a net zero energy system
End of session
Visit our Exhibition and Innovation Halls for:
- New technologies on display
- Q&A with projects leaders on their companies’ stands
- Extra NIC and NIA project presentation videos available for download
Lunch
Live polling session
Delivering tomorrow’s electricity network: the Open Networks Project
Quickfire updates on the five themes of work coming out of the ENA’s Open Networks Project, and a chance to feed back on its 2021 direction in our live polling panel.
- Data and outputs: update from Open Networks and the Data Working Group
- Whole energy system transformation
- Flexibility and commercial evolution
- Delivering Distribution System Operation (DSO)
- Improving distribution connections for customers
Panel
What do you need from the future electricity grid?
- DSO/ESO coordination: how will it work?
- Opportunities for standardisation and opening up data to improve the customer experience
- Working holistically across all energy vectors: how will this work?
- Barriers to participation in flexibility markets
- Role of networks in delivering net zero
End of session
Visit our Exhibition and Innovation Halls for:
- New technologies on display
- Q&A with projects leaders on their companies’ stands
- Extra NIC and NIA project presentation videos available for download
Visit the Networking Lounge for group chats on:
a. Emobility: what do the networks need to do to enable the electrification of transport?
b. The hydrogen transition: how are we building confidence in the safety case?
c. Funding operational efficiency innovations
d. Innovation in ED2
Tech showcase
New solutions for future energy systems
Global innovators have just 5 minutes each to share their latest solutions, how they work and the benefits they can bring to energy networks, in this lively fast-paced session.
Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories
CGI
S&C
Opus One
End of session
DAY 2
Gas sessions
Welcome back to ENIC 2020
European keynote
Shaping an inclusive energy transition
Outside the box speaker
Our view of the future of energy and how innovation will make it happen
Panel
Which international net zero projects can we learn from?
- Germany’s lessons learnt from the SINTEG innovation projects and plans for its energy transition
- European smart grid initiatives: progress, challenges and future direction
- The USA’s net zero projects and focus for 2030 and 2050
- What new projects we do need to fully decarbonise energy systems by 2050?
End of session
Visit our Exhibition and Innovation Halls for:
- New technologies on display
- Q&A with projects leaders on their companies’ stands
- Extra NIC and NIA project presentation videos available for download
Lunch
Fast followers quickfire round
Technologies tested by the networks through the NIC or NIA projects, which can be readily implemented by other network operators.
- GRAID: robots in pipes
Dave Hardman, Innovation Specialist, and Josh Blake, Project Lead, National Grid Gas Transmission
- Pressure Control and Management: demand response, network monitoring and automation SGN
- Leakvision: sensor system for leakage detection
Mark Skerritt, Innovation Project Manager, SGN
- Foam Bag Operation on Stubs (FBOS)
Vishal Dhanji, Innovation Project Manager – West Midlands, CadentRichard Ditte, Senior Development Manager, Steve Vick International
- Robotic and Roadwork Excavation System (RRES)
Oliver Machan, Project Manager, SGN
Visit our Exhibition and Innovation Halls for:
- New technologies on display
- Q&A with projects leaders on their companies’ stands
- Extra NIC and NIA project presentation videos available for download
Visit the Networking Lounge to join group chats on topics such as:
a. Power electronics: how they are being applied
b. Flexibility and stability for islands and other remote communities
DoorStop: facial recognition technology to improve the safety of customers and colleagues
This project will augment the traditional ID card with facial recognition technology, linked to the organisation’s website, without the need for the customer to download additional apps or software. The engineer’s face will be validated against a database of known staff to identify them and the organisation they work for, or conversely flag to the customer that the caller could not be identified. It is anticipated that for most customers this facial recognition system will be an improvement and for customers with visual impairments DoorStop will also provide voice recognition technology.
Live Service Transfer: providing a service for vulnerable customers
The impact of COVID 19 has provided GDNs the opportunity to assess a 30 year process friction of isolating the customer’s gas supply to transfer or relay their service as a result of our mains replacement activity. A joint GDN taskforce was created to investigate this problem and try and develop a potential solution to this issue. This presentation highlights the outputs and potential opportunities created to solve this problem.
StreetScore: improving safety and accessibility of streetworks
In order to make our network net zero ready by 2035, we will need to continue replacing our metallic assets at a rate of around 500km a year. At the same time, our customers, through age and illnesses, are increasingly vulnerable and streetworks are becoming a major challenge for some to negotiate. StreetScore takes looks to provide tools to risk assess sites and score streetworks designs, to address:
- The public’s ability to transit within streetworks affected areas with acceptable or no challenge
- Additional risks associated with streetworks (excavation, trip, noise etc.)
- Streetworks planning and actioning optimisation for both the public and the operators
Panel
Taking customers in vulnerable situations on our net zero journey
- What is a vulnerable customer?
- Ensuring customers are not negatively impacted as a result of the energy systems transition
- What are the opportunities to better engage with our customers in the future?
End of session
Electricity sessions
Welcome back to ENIC 2020
David Smith, Chief Executive, Energy Networks AssociationShaping an inclusive energy transition
Outside the box speaker
Our view of the future of energy and how innovation will make it happen
Panel
Which international net zero projects can we learn from?
- Germany’s lessons learnt from the SINTEG innovation projects and plans for its energy transition
- European smart grid initiatives: progress, challenges and future direction
- The USA’s net zero projects and focus for 2030 and 2050
- What new projects we do need to fully decarbonise energy systems by 2050?
End of session
Visit our Exhibition and Innovation Halls for:
- New technologies on display
- Q&A with projects leaders on their companies’ stands
- Extra NIC and NIA project presentation videos available for download
Lunch
Distributed intelligence on the low voltage electricity network: system and community benefits
OpenLV is a three-and-a-half-year project with a £5.5 million budget, funded through the Network Innovation Competition. The project, managed by EA Technology on behalf of Western Power Distribution, has investigated the benefit of deploying a distributed intelligence platform on the low voltage distribution network, testing the LV-CAP™ technologies ability to:
- Monitor the low voltage loads on cables and transformers in substations
- Provide network operators with accurate information about the state of the network
- Perform calculations locally
- Send out alerts when pre-set thresholds are met
- Reconfigure or directly influence the local low voltage network
Further, OpenLV has investigated the appetite among community organisations, businesses and academics to receive low voltage network data and to use it if it is made available. This presentation will cover the network benefits of distributed intelligence and summarise the wider societal appetite and positive outcomes of making local data available to all.
Boston Spa Energy Efficiency Trial: using smart meters to reduce customers’ energy consumption
Conservation voltage reduction is the concept of reducing customers’ supply voltage to lower their energy consumption. Generally, customers’ supply voltage on low voltage distribution networks tends to be high and previous innovation projects have proven that by reducing this voltage household energy consumption can be reduced. The Boston Spa Energy Efficiency Trial (BEET) will develop and trial a control system to take smart meter voltage measurements and use these to determine an optimum target voltage set point to be applied at the 11kV busbars at three primary substations in the trial area. The aim is to provide customers with a lower supply voltage than they currently receive. The innovation is that smart meter voltage measurements will be used as part of the control system and no new primary hardware such as voltage regulators or on-load tap changers at secondary substations are required.
Panel
Protecting vulnerable customers as we decarbonise electricity networks
- How to go about protecting vulnerable consumers and customers
- Balancing the cost against the liability of providing a reliable system
- How do we make the future energy system fair?
- What are the opportunities to better engage with our customers in the future?
- What are the opportunities to better engage with our customers in the future?
Fast followers quickfire round
Technologies tested by the networks through the NIC or NIA projects, which can be readily implemented by other network operators.
- Smart Street IRM: the road to BAU
Andy Howard, Innovation Programme Manager, Electricity North West
- Low Voltage: Underground Fault Location Technologies (LV-UFLT)
Kevin Dennis, Innovation Project Manager, Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks
- Universal bushing project: successful reduction of spares holding
Gordon Wilson, Senior Innovation Engineer, National Grid Electricity Transmission
- iDentify
Michael Alexander, Lean Six Sigma Black Belt, SP Energy Networks
- Autodesign: LV connections self-service tool
Clare Roberts, Design Engineer, Northern Powergrid
- Load Blinding Relays
Ben Gabb, Technical Sourcing and Standards Engineer, UK Power Networks, UK Power Networks
Visit our Exhibition and Innovation Halls for:
- New technologies on display
- Q&A with projects leaders on their companies’ stands
- Extra NIC and NIA project presentation videos available for download
Visit the Networking Lounge to join group chats on:
a. Power electronics: how they are being applied
b. Flexibility and stability for islands and other remote communities
Silent Power: hybrid EV generator
Silent Power is a mobile electrical energy storage system that is used to restore domestic customer supplies in the event of a network fault or maintain customer supplies during a planned power cut. The system operates in silence and produces no particulate contamination. It can also be used to create a mobile microgrid, absorbing local generation and supporting local demand. Northern Powergrid is currently trialling three of these systems in its operating area.
Sentinel: the learning so far
The Sentinel presentation will cover a brief description of the project aims, the technologies employed/trialled and the progress to date. It will explain the end to end process for different fault types and highlight the challenges and solutions we have encountered and what the next steps are for the project.
Optimised Infra-Red Image technology Systems (OsIRIS)
This project quantified the uncertainty in infrared measurements in substation environments using an ISO compliant methodology. This will help in identifying a threshold at which temperature triggers should be set to avoid false readings and alarms when using infrared imaging as part of asset management processes.
Fault location excellence: keeping the lights on as we move towards next zero
UK Power Networks’ experienced engineers will take you through the company’s projects using cutting-edge technology to deliver the most reliable power supplies ever across London, the South and East of England. The team will share insights from projects involving new uses for AI, new smart technologies and innovative operational equipment aimed at taking the DNO’s performance to the next level. You’ll learn more about a range of exciting projects, all of which are testing innovative technologies to either predict power cuts before they happen, or give engineers more information about faults when they happen – so they can keep the lights on more reliably than ever.
LV Engine: the journey of developing the detailed design of a smart transformer
LV Engine is deploying a novel smart transformer onto UK distribution networks. This presentation will share the journey of the detailed design of the smart transformer. This will cover topics such as protection, cooling and size considerations.
End of session
Special sessions
Welcome back to ENIC 2020
European keynote
The future energy system: a European vision for 2050
Outside the box speaker
Our view of the future of energy and how innovation will make it happen
Panel
Which international net zero projects can we learn from?
- Germany’s lessons learnt from the SINTEG innovation projects and plans for its energy transition
- European smart grid initiatives: progress, challenges and future direction
- The USA’s net zero projects and focus for 2030 and 2050
- What new projects we do need to fully decarbonise energy systems by 2050?
End of session
Visit our Exhibition and Innovation Halls for:
- New technologies on display
- Q&A with projects leaders on their companies’ stands
- Extra NIC and NIA project presentation videos available for download
Lunch
Gas Goes Green: purpose and progress
The Hydrogen Transformation Plan
The Hydrogen Plan report: overview and key recommendations.
Panel
How do networks deliver the hydrogen transition?
What else do we need to do on the issues raised in the Hydrogen Transformation Plan?
Gas Goes Green in 2021
- ENA programme for 2021: have your say on the plans for our programme of work
- How to get involved: opportunities for service and technology providers
Visit our Exhibition and Innovation Halls for:
- New technologies on display
- Q&A with projects leaders on their companies’ stands
- Extra NIC and NIA project presentation videos available for download
Visit the Networking Lounge to join group chats on:
a. Power electronics: how they are being applied
b. Flexibility and stability for islands and other remote communities
Heat: electrification and zero carbon
Learn more about UK Power Networks’ industry-first decarbonisation of Heat Strategy and a portfolio of new projects aimed facilitating this integral part of the Net Zero carbon emissions transition. Engineers at the Distribution Network Operator will take you through their targeted, local approach to a forecasting and monitoring heat-readiness through collaboration with local authorities, community groups and other key stakeholders. The team will also discuss early insights from the company’s work to actively facilitate the transition to low carbon heating by create zones analysing the best pathways in specific areas.
4D Heat: can flexible domestic electric heating help reduce wind curtailment?
By analysing an off-gas grid area in Skye and extrapolating to off-gas grid Scotland, 4D Heat explores the ability of heat flexibility to absorb wind power that would otherwise have been curtailed due to England-Scotland transmission constraints. 4D Heat takes a whole system view and all optimisation and analyses were subject to the constraint of not increasing costs to the Electricity System Operator, Distribution Grid Operator or end consumer. The project identified that up to 540GWh (9%) of otherwise curtailed wind could be used by domestic heating across off-gas grid Scotland in 2030, saving £24m per year in wind constraint payments and delivering a further £2m per year in environmental and social benefits.
Panel
The decarbonisation of heat: cross-vector solutions
- The hydrogen transition: progress update
- Views on the state of heat in 2050: What percentages do we expect to be covered by hydrogen, biomethane, electrification and heat networks?
- Ensuring a coordinated approach to the decarbonisation of heat across the UK
- Policy and regulatory frameworks needed to support 2050 goals
Zero 2050
We will talk you through the South Wales Zero 2050 project and the approach taken to developing plausible decarbonisation pathways for the whole energy system in South Wales. You will hear about the emerging findings from the analysis, highlighting uncertainties that we need to consider as we move to a zero carbon future. We will also explore how we can learn from South Wales for elsewhere in Great Britain.
Multi Energy Vector Modelling: investigating the impact of decarbonisation
In response to the pressing environmental concerns, a wide range of net zero carbon emissions pathways are being proposed and periodically updated. Catering for these uncertain pathways in a cost-effective manner is a grand challenge, which will require a whole system perspective to plan for investments in critical infrastructures to support coupling between multiple energy vectors and sectors. This project aims to develop a multi-energy methodology and tool capable to quantify the energy infrastructure impacts and requirements of various future multi-energy decarbonisation pathways. A high level overview of the methodology will be presented, including key demand models for electricity, heating, gas, biogas, hydrogen and transport. The results, based on the context of Greater Manchester, will shed light on how different energy futures can have diverse effects on peak energy use and the associated requirements for network capacity and other investments in infrastructures across the area.