National Grid Electricity Distribution (NGED) is investing more than £200,000 in a five-year research programme at the University of Bath that aims to give network operators clearer, real-time visibility of energy flows and accelerate the UK’s push towards net zero.
The work will be led by Professor Furong Li, newly appointed Royal Academy of Engineering Research Chair in Future Electric Networks, a position sponsored by NGED. Her team in the university’s Department of Electronic & Electrical Engineering will develop open data, models and evidence to help NGED – and, ultimately, the wider sector – move from today’s largely static grid operation to a more agile, demand-driven system.
The project will focus on producing highly granular information that can underpin new financial incentives, nudging homes and businesses either to consume or to save electricity depending on renewable generation levels and network congestion.
Professor Li explained the significance of the shift, “Moving to a demand-driven decarbonisation model is crucial if the UK is to achieve its Clean Power 2030 and net zero 2050 commitments. Our research will help the UK’s network operators move from the existing monolithic power system model, where data sharing and dynamic interactions between sub-systems are very limited, to a new, more agile and flexible model fit for rapidly changing low carbon systems.
“We will work with NGED to make that information clearer and give operators better visibility of energy flows between customers and networks.
“Currently, it is hard for consumers to understand the impacts of different choices such as switching to a heat pump or electric vehicle, and hard for network operators to predict the uptakes of low carbon technologies between locations and over time – our work aims to change that.”
Over the course of the partnership, Prof Li’s group plans to collaborate closely with NGED’s Distribution Systems Operator (DSO) function, testing its models on live network data. Cathy McClay, Managing Director of NGED DSO, said the appointment builds on two decades of cooperation.
She commented, “We are delighted to be the industrial sponsor of this prestigious research chair. For more than 20 years, Professor Li has collaborated with us and made significant contributions around network investment and digitalisation at a time of rapid and complex change for the energy sector.
“This research chair is well deserved recognition of her expertise, and we look forward to deepening our strategic relationship to drive greater access to open data and models. This will be key for us to bring key stakeholders together, driving agile network operation and development to withstand future risks and shocks.”
