The West Midlands is building the UK’s first smart energy systems cluster. It’s a testbed for energy innovation, designed to support local innovators and help commercialise their technologies. This will bolster UK energy security and economic growth by providing vital technologies and business models that can be deployed across the UK.
The West Midlands Smart Energy Systems Cluster recently held its inaugural advisory board meeting. We spoke with Andy Clark, Project Director at Energy Systems Catapult, which is leading the cluster, to discuss its progress and how more innovators can get involved.
First up, why do we need a cluster and why in the West Midlands?
Andy: “The UK is moving from a centralised energy system to one that flexes to the cleaner, more distributed, digitised and democratised forms of energy being added to our homes and grid. To achieve that we need a smart energy system. And that’s where the West Midlands come in, with its perfect mix of capability and opportunity.”
“The region has a very constrained energy system, and is in need of technologies that can help overcome a lack of capacity on the grid, avoid expensive grid reinforcement, and help businesses with energy constraints. For example, by enabling flexibility at scale, optimising how different technologies can work together to match supply and demand, or enabling deployment of smarter energy technology in homes and by businesses. This provides proximity to an early market demand.”
“Thankfully, the West Midlands also has a concentration of capabilities to meet this demand. The West Midlands Combined Authority has provided early support and a clear policy environment supporting this aim. The area is home to top university research and innovation infrastructure. And we have energy innovators large and small who are ideally placed to help each other lead the development of a smart energy system and benefit from the huge opportunities it brings.”
“Once we prove it in the West Midlands, we can then export the solutions around the UK, commercialising businesses and technologies that will secure new markets for job creation and economic growth.”
What happened at the inaugural meeting?
Andy: “Our first meeting of the cluster’s advisory board was a statement of intent about how seriously this opportunity is being taken by key players in the West Midlands to guide and accelerate the development of a smart energy system. The sector is critically recognised as a high growth cluster within the West Midlands Growth Plan.”
“The advisory board includes stakeholders from what’s known as the ‘triple helix’ – an approach that brings together the public sector, universities and businesses. This model, which has already been proven through other publicly funded innovation programmes, empowers regional players to unlock innovation, provide long-term impact and make the most of existing assets and initiatives.”
“We hosted advisory board members at the Energy Systems Catapult’s office in Birmingham to discuss opportunities for funding and how partners will work together to prioritise what action should be taken. We had representatives from the West Midlands Combined Authority, West Midlands Growth Company, Energy Capital, University of Birmingham, Sustainability West Midlands, Sustainable Energy Association, Grid Edge, Voltempo, Daikin, Tyseley Energy Park and the National Energy Hub.”
“Essentially, we’re planning how we can join the dots across different organisations in the region to make them greater than the sum of their parts.”
“Our initial focus has been creating three sub-sector groups which allow more detailed conversations on opportunities outside of our quarterly cluster-wide stakeholder meeting. The partners in these subgroups are now working together on smart home technologies, smart heat technologies and smart business, which includes commercial transport.”
“These three subgroups are bringing together stakeholders that have specific innovations and challenges so they can explore potential partnerships and project opportunities. This approach is looking really promising so keep your eyes peeled for further developments from the cluster.”
What comes next?
Andy: “Clusters are high on the government’s agenda right now, with funding schemes like the Local Innovation Partnerships Fund supporting their success.”
“As the cluster lead and an independent convener, Energy Systems Catapult is really keen to hear from more companies who want to play a part creating a smart energy system in the West Midlands by 2030.”
“There’s a huge opportunity here to showcase innovation, support businesses and put them in front of people who are interested in buying their services. We can help innovators identify existing funding schemes to accelerate their commercialisation, and act as a conduit, connecting companies that win by working with one another.”
“If you want to learn more about joining the cluster and attending our quarterly meetings, there’s more detail on the cluster’s webpage and you can email my colleague Summayyah Hussain.”
“Together we can showcase the West Midland’s strengths, unlock investment and show how regional collaboration can produce solutions with national, and even international, impact.”
