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The importance of social landlords on the journey to Net Zero

With the recent announcement of the Green Homes Grant and Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund, Our Energy Revolution Integration Service (ERIS) is keen to better understand the motivations and challenges to installation of innovative low carbon technologies in social housing. 

We want to build on our understanding of the challenges and needs of those involved in the supply chain, and what could be done to support this, and also what can we learn from those doing this today.

Webinar: Social landlords and the journey to Net Zero webinar

As part of the important of social landlords work, ERIS is hosting a webinar to explore the social housing sector to understand how decisions are made and the drivers and barriers to installation of innovative technology in social housing.

This webinar will introduce the perspectives of those involved, including learnings and drivers for rolling out low carbon technologies with the aim to help all parties to improve understanding of this market. 

Applications are open for grants through UK PACT Green Recovery Challenge

Applications for the UK PACT Green Recovery Challenge Fund (GRCF) are still open. However, the 15 September deadline is fast approaching, so don't miss out!

The GRCF will deliver grants of up to ?500,000 to help target ODA-eligible countries accelerate their low carbon transition by supporting projects that promote a green, resilient and inclusive recovery. 

To support applications, a detailed video on how to apply through the programme's portal is now available. 

A questionnaire for SMEs to help improve our international reach

We''re creating a new support process to help UK innovators get access to Prosperity Fund markets. 

Our International Support Platform was set up to connect UK innovators to overseas markets, opportunities and expertise, while helping to engage and inform foreign investors about the UK energy system.

The first step is to seek feedback from the UK innovator community on their priority markets in relation to Prosperity Fund supported regions, to inform our decision as to which two markets to focus on.

Local Area Energy Planning: The Method

Ofgem has set out its proposals to "rewire Britain at a local level to deliver a greener and fairer energy system for British consumers".

Ofgem''s proposals include a methodology report commissioned by Ofgem and developed by the Catapult and the Centre for Sustainable Energy describing the purpose and value of Local Area Energy Planning (LAEP). It identifies four critical elements of LAEP and sets out quality criteria for each element which together define what LAEP 'done well' involves.

Rolling out Local Area Energy Planning

Earlier this year, we set out our thinking on policies for decarbonising buildings over the next two decades in 'Six steps to zero carbon buildings''.

This policy brief sets out the case for rolling out a new approach to whole system LAEP across the UK over the next five years, as part of an ongoing programme to support the achievement of Net Zero emissions targets and the decarbonisation of not only buildings, but also mobility and other sectors.

Mixergy - Smart Hot Water Storage Tanks

Mixergy has designed an innovative, smart hot water storage tank that allows consumers to heat only the water they need, in contrast to conventional hot water tanks which heat all or nothing. This saves on energy, cost and carbon emissions.

We utilised our Home Energy Dynamics modelling toolkit to help Mixergy simulate how their hot water tank interacts with varied building and occupancy profiles without needing to deploy the innovation in the real world.

Domestic heat demand study

To ensure UK analysis continues to draw on the best available evidence, we commissioned a study by Robert Sansom (Vendura Ltd) to provide updated assumptions, on behalf of the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy. 

The Domestic heat demand study drew upon the latest UK Climate Projections (UKCP18) to understand how future changes in average - and extreme - temperatures might affect the energy needs of households as part of the Net Zero transition.

FEW PLACES REMAINING: Trial your innovation this winter...

Our Living Lab is the ideal test and validation tool to accelerate innovations to market - and we have a limited number of places left to run real-world, cost-effective trials this winter.

We've packaged our most popular trials into three offerings so innovators can choose the suitable option to meet their needs. All three offerings allow you to install a single product in five of our domestic Living Lab homes this November 2020*, and run your trial for six months to May 2021.

EV Energy Taskforce: Moving from Proposals to Actions

The Electric Vehicle Energy Taskforce (EVET) is moving into its second phase to ensure the proposals identified in phase one are put into action.

Chaired by Phil New, our chief executive, the first report made 21 far reaching proposals to remove actual or potential barriers and reinforce actual or potential enablers, and focused on key issues and identified when important questions must be resolved.  

If Government is serious about Net Zero, it must implement a UK ETS in 2021

"Last week the Prime Minister spoke of "a green industrial revolution that in the next ten years will create hundreds of thousands if not millions of jobs". Clearly low carbon energy innovation is seen as a key engine for our post-Covid economic recovery. If his government is serious about this, it must grasp a historic opportunity and implement a UK Emissions Trading System (ETS) on 1 January next year..."

Read our latest comment piece by Danial Sturge, Energy Policy Advisor and George Day, Head of Markets, Policy and Regulation.

Can we harness the power of local energy data to help deliver a net zero future?         

"Imagine a world where energy suppliers and service providers use data from smart meters and smart thermostats, energy networks and local area energy plans to design tailored packages of low carbon products and services for households that deliver greater comfort at a price people are willing to pay..."

Richard Halsey, our capabilities director, talks about UKRI''s initial discovery project to understand potential use cases for the application of local energy data to help innovators respond to the UKRI Modernising Energy Data Applications Challenge Competition launched earlier this month.

18 innovative firms chosen to help accelerate West Midlands to Net Zero

Eighteen of the UK's most innovative SMEs have been selected for a business accelerator programme aimed at helping the West Midlands become a leader in developing Net Zero energy systems for buildings, commercial estates and industry.

Our new Energy Launchpad will run the 'Innovator Challenge' in collaboration with EIT Climate-KIC and supported by Energy Capital - part of the West Midlands Combined Authority.

Seven UK innovators tipped to spark Zero Carbon Homes

We''ve selected seven of the UK's most cutting-edge innovators in Smart Zero Carbon Building Solutions for a rigorous business acceleration programme.

For our fourth 'Innovator Challenge', our Energy Launchpad is collaborating with Places for People, to help SMEs unlock new routes-to-market, secure investment and breakdown barriers to growth.

Call for information on the domestic consumers that innovators are designing for

As part of BEIS' ?505m Energy Innovation Programme, our Consumer Insight team is delivering a project to summarise evidence about how future innovation could enable low income and vulnerable consumers to increasingly benefit from a smart energy system.   

Energy innovators can help us to shape the evidence base for future innovation in smart energy systems, and share how the UK could ensure all consumers can benefit from future energy innovation, by completing our short survey below about their product or service, and consumers.

Webinar: UK Local Authorities delivering Smart Local Energy Systems: Digital and Data

How can Local Authorities deliver their climate emergency targets and drive the green recovery with innovative smart local energy system (SLES) projects? 

We''re hosting our second of four local authority focused webinar-workshops - this time putting a spotlight on the digital and data challenges, including the tools and solutions available for local authorities to deliver SLES developments in their local areas. 

The remaining webinars will focus on ''People and Skills'' and ''Tech and Infrastructure''.

Electrification of Heat places and partners announced

Three locations and three delivery contractors have been announced to install electric heat pumps into 750 homes for the $14.6m Electrification of Heat Demonstration (EoHD) project.

We''re managing the EoHD project which aims to better understand and overcome barriers to the large-scale roll-out of low carbon heating.

Towards a smarter and flexible European energy system

UK businesses often lack vital market intelligence to inform their business and export strategies.

Supported by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in Europe, we conducted a market study of the commercial opportunity for demand-side flexibility and wider smart energy system solutions in Europe.

Can vulnerable consumers benefit from smarter heating controls?

Although growing in popularity, smart heating controls are not yet commonplace in UK homes. Some studies have explored how consumers use smart heating controls, but those studies rarely include vulnerable households.

We've filled this gap by exploring how vulnerable households use smart heating controls and how they could benefit from future smart energy services in our new report - Fuel Poverty in the Smart Energy World.

Phase 1: Modernising Energy Data Access - Your online data architecture

As part of the Prospering from the Energy Revolution programme, Innovate UK launched the Modernising Energy Data Access competition, designed to enable energy data to be open-sourced for the benefit of society.

Siemens, together with the Catapult and National Innovation Centre for Data will deliver a 'digitally integrated energy system' which supports a Common Data Architecture concept.

We recently published our Phase 1 reports which cover discovery phase to tease out the requirements for their solution.

A new landscape: Smart Heating and Cooling

Following the success of our Digital Energy Landscape project, we''re looking for companies who are involved in the Smart Heating and Cooling sector to get in touch so that we can identify those who are transforming this fast-growing energy sector.

Solutions should be part of the wider energy system by encouraging engagement with low carbon technologies, cross-vector solutions and energy reduction measures.

Call for collaborators on Japanese and Spanish EUREKA funding bid

Innovate UK is investing ?1 million to fund UK businesses leading collaborative research and development (R&D) projects under the EUREKA programme. Projects must be co-ordinated by a lead partner from the UK (the Catapult) and a lead partner in-country.

We''re calling for Expressions of Interest from UK energy firms to work with us and a Japanese or Spanish partner on an innovative idea they would like to develop.

The Green Recovery Challenge Fund

The Green Recovery Challenge Fund is a ?12 million capacity-building fund under the flagship UK PACT programme, with target countries in Asia, Latin America and Sub-Saharan Africa. It aims to support innovative and creative ideas that address specific low carbon development challenges, promote social inclusion, and inspire future actions to increase climate ambition.

The programme welcomes international and local non-governmental organisations, civil society organisations, research institutes and private sector companies to apply for grants of up to ?500,000 for technical assistance projects initially lasting up to 12 months.

Coming soon: Net Zero Carbon Policy

Our Markets, Policy and Regulation team will soon be publishing its first report under the 'Net Zero Carbon Policy' thought leadership project.

The report aims to explore how the UK can build a coherent set of sectoral carbon policies to deliver Net Zero, building on the insights from the our Rethinking Decarbonisation Incentives project.

In the meantime, you can catch up on our policy advisor, Danial Sturge''s comment piece, which discusses what needs to happen during this Parliament.

Local Area Energy Modelling for Smart Local Energy Systems

"Smart Local Energy Systems (SLES) are a new concept being developed around the UK that require multiple stakeholders to collaborate on delivering multiple outcomes across multiple systems with the goal of delivering better, more valued low carbon services to end users.

Ben Walters, our senior modelling analyst, explains how we''ve developed our modelling tools that can support strategic planning for local areas in our latest comment piece.

What are smart local energy systems and how can they support the UK's transition to Net Zero?

Join the Energy Revolution Integration Service (ERIS) to explore what SLES are and how they can support the UK''s transition to Net Zero.

Led by Eva Gromadzki, ERIS Director, this webinar will be framed around the soon to be published 11 UK SLES Concept Design ''Portfolio Review'' insight report. The concept designs were funded by Innovate UK as part of the Prospering from the Energy Revolution (PFER) programme.

Focus Groups: Milford Haven: Energy Kingdom

The Milford Haven: Energy Kingdom project is focusing on the transition to hydrogen and a greater penetration of renewable generation along the Milford Haven Waterway and Pembrokeshire coastline.

We''ll be hosting a series of focus groups to discuss the elements of this systems architecture and would like to hear if you want to be involved.

To register, email Charmalee Jayamaha, our technical collaboration manager, with your details and a little about the area of the hydrogen economy where you specialise.

Watch: Innovating to Net Zero at Westminster Energy Forum

Scott Milne, our head of insights, recently participated in an online Westminster Energy Forum where he shared insights from our flagship programme, Innovating to Net Zero.

Innovating to Net Zero modelled 100''s of potential pathways to 2050 - ramping up or down different technologies and behaviour changes - to understand the combinations, interactions and trade-offs of competing decarbonisation approaches.

Watch his presentation below.

  Complete our five minute multiple-choice survey to help us learn

what you know about us, what we do and where we could improve.

Calling SMEs to help develop our Whole Systems Guide

We''ve teamed with INCOSE UK, which acts as a chapter of the International Council on Systems Engineering, to write a practical Whole Systems Guide to help SMEs develop and grow their existing capabilities in this area.

If you would like to participate, please complete our short questionnaire below. Participation is likely to take a short amount of your time in Q1 of 2021. This includes a few hours to review draft documents plus a workshop of less than a day to help us understand your needs and contributing to the document as it develops.

Catapult to lead project on Local Energy Systems for Scottish Industry

We''ve been appointed to lead a Local Energy Systems Scottish Industry Network (LESSIN) and bring together manufacturers, project developers, technology companies and investors to cultivate the low carbon ecosystem in Scotland.

The ?334,000 initiative will be led by the Catapult in partnership with the Energy Technology Partnership and is supported by the Scottish Government, Scottish Enterprise, and Highlands and Islands Enterprise.

Webinar date change: Living Lab Domestic Energy Innovation webinar series - How to delight consumers

Our second webinar in this series, 'How to delight consumers'' is now taking place on Thursday 4 February 2021. Join us to explore consumer challenges and opportunities innovators might face in the future energy market and to find out more about our Living Lab and how it could save you time and money in growing your business successfully.