The launch of a vital project that will investigate the role of a flexible energy system in achieving a net zero economy has been announced by a new cross sector consortium.
The project, led by the Carbon Trust and supported by Imperial College, will explore the potential for an integrated and flexible energy system to reduce the cost of reaching the UK’s net zero economy goal by 2050.
The Flexibility in Great Britain project will conduct in-depth analysis based on modelling, research and stakeholder interviews to investigate how different sources of flexibility across the heat, transport and power sectors can reduce overall system costs to consumers.
This work will also explore the business models required to deliver an integrated flexible system.
It builds on influential Carbon Trust reports from 2016, which identified that the cost of a future energy system in Great Britain could be reduced by £40 billion ($49 million) with greater flexibility and the implementation of storage.
The project’s findings will be published in early 2021 and are expected to inform energy system stakeholders and policy makers’ work on net zero commitments, heat decarbonisation pathways and the rapid transition to low emission transport options.
