The Smart Energy Data Service (SENSE) provides researchers, energy system innovators and policymakers with secure access to newly licensed datasets in a push to solve today’s most pressing social and economic challenges.

Launched in March 2026, SENSE opens up a world of data that researchers and innovators would otherwise struggle to obtain – ranging from smart meter usage data, datasets on non-domestic buildings, and electric vehicle stats.

We caught up with Matt Ward, whose company Cenex has donated datasets to the platform, to explore what they’ve shared, what they hope comes from it, and how access to SENSE supports their own work on energy innovation.

Can you tell us a bit about your role at Cenex, how data supports your work and what datasets you produce?

We’re an independent research technology organisation focussed on innovations for reducing emissions from transport and energy infrastructure.

I work as a data analyst and lead developer behind Cenex’s Insights Toolkit. Hosted through the NEVIS Service, the toolkit provides a public-facing dashboard for sharing electric vehicle (EV) and EV infrastructure (EVI) data and modelling with the public and private sectors.

These focus on statistics and modelling including current deployment, future projections, environmental benefits and EV adoption forecasts, alongside geospatial mapping that shows where charging infrastructure already exists and where future demand is expected.

All the modelling we do relies on high-quality data so we can give the best advice and recommendations to our users and clients. To achieve this, we rely on a range of excellent NEVIS ecosystem partners.

What motivated Cenex to become a data donor to the SENSE platform?

There are so many questions that still need to be answered when it comes to the decarbonisation of cars and vans. As the UK’s Centre of Excellence for Sustainable Transport, we understand the value of good quality data – and we want to see researchers making the most of it.

We know how frustrating it can be when research is held back because the data you need is behind a paywall. Sharing our data through the SENSE platform allows researchers to make use of our data and projections while protecting our commercial interests and IP.

This way, everyone benefits.

What types of data have you chosen to share, and why do you see these datasets as valuable to the wider research and innovation community?

We’ve shared as much data as our licencing allows. Key datasets which many of our users appreciate are our localised EV uptake and EVI need projections. These are individual to every local authority.

Being able to share these with interested researchers allows them to make use of the same nationally consistent, high-quality baseline as the public sector, rather than having to develop their own EV adoption projections.

We’ve seen first-hand how researchers have used this data to model the effects of shifts in EV adoption.

I hope by giving easy access to many more researchers and innovators, we’ll begin to see them using it for a wide range of cases from modelling demand on a charge point to assessing the business case for technical innovations like bidirectional charging.

From your perspective, what role does data sharing play in accelerating the transition to a smarter, cleaner energy system?

The UK is racing to electrify transport and the infrastructure that supports it.

The more time and effort users can spend pushing their research forward rather than recreating work that others have already done, the further they can go and the greater impact their research can have.

How did you find the process of onboarding and contributing data to SENSE?

The process was straightforward, and we greatly appreciate the attention and flexibility shown by the SENSE team to ensure that our data can be shared with the research community – but in a controlled way.

If like us, you have datasets to share that would benefit the wider research and innovation community, I’d recommend contacting the SENSE team to see how they can help.

Have you seen any early signs of how the data you’ve donated could be used by other researchers or organisations?

Researchers have approached us wanting to combine our data with their own synthetic EVI usage data – helping project how infrastructure will be used as more consumers and businesses switch to electric vehicles. We’re excited to see where this goes.

You plan to use SENSE’s wider datasets for your own research at Cenex. Can you give us some early predictions or insights on what you might use it for and what you expect to achieve?

The main dataset that we’re interested in is the capacity and headroom data from DNOs.

We’re looking at how we can combine it with our ‘EVI need’ datasets to identify areas of the UK that will need additional infrastructure but are likely to struggle with grid capacity.

The race to decarbonise is on. If you have data that you think could accelerate research and innovation, get in touch with SENSE. Email our co-director richard.snape@es.catapult.org.uk    

We’ll work out the terms together – and in return, your organisation gains greater visibility in the research community, access to shared research, and recognition for supporting data for the public good.