Comment by James Sumnall, Graduate Energy Analyst at Energy Systems Catapult.

Navigating the energy flexibility system isn’t easy, especially for organisations that aren’t already part of the energy sector. The UK energy system is complex, and getting involved often means understanding a web of regulations and technical details that can take years to learn. This puts newer or smaller players at a disadvantage, while established organisations with deep expertise and strong networks have a much easier time navigating their way.

To level the playing field and unlock greater innovation, the Digitalising Energy Flexibility programme was established to address these barriers. The programme brings together a suite of tools and frameworks designed to help innovators make sense of the system and accelerate development. One of these tools is the Flexibility Systems Map, a data-driven, navigable model of the energy sector that highlights how technologies, markets, services and organisations connect within the UK’s flexibility landscape.

Laying the foundations: Mapping the UK’s energy system

In 2020, the UK government commissioned Energy Systems Catapult to develop a tool that could capture the full complexity of the energy sector – from technologies and organisations to regulation. The Systems Engineering team responded by applying Model-Based Systems Engineering (MBSE), a methodology used to represent complex systems clearly and consistently, within a lightweight, custom-built framework. This avoided heavyweight off-the-shelf tools, allowing the model to remain flexible, maintainable and accessible.

Following the launch of the Digitalising Energy Flexibility programme, the need for a clear, navigable view of the energy system became even more apparent. In response, the team developed the Flexibility Systems Map to help innovators understand how different system components interact, where integration is possible, and how their solutions can make an impact.

Continuously refined through stakeholder feedback and expert knowledge, the map consists of clearly defined layers, each connected to real-world examples and regulatory frameworks. These layers work together to highlight opportunities for collaboration, integration, and value creation across the energy system.

“Mapping a system of systems, to analyse and communicate its structure and behaviour, using a combination of MBSE tools and simple architecture frameworks to facilitate consistency, traceability and maintainability”– Chris Lang, Senior Systems Engineer.

The map is more than a set of diagrams. It is a robust, database-driven model that enables consistency and traceability while supporting change management. For SMEs, innovators and policymakers, it offers a practical way to demystify system complexity and support better decision-making, faster integration and more joined-up collaboration.

Figure 1 shows a screengrab from the Flexibility Systems Map, the component chosen for this figure is the Energy Market system.

We’re building a layered model of the energy system

The map is structured around six interconnected layers:

1. Stakeholders and governance: Key actors, regulatory frameworks, and decision-making structures.
2. Markets and money: Financial flows, incentives, and roles across the energy landscape.
3. Services: From energy supply to demand-side response, illustrating how services interact.
4. Processes: Trading, balancing, and flexibility operations, mapping critical functions and processes.
5. Digital infrastructure: Data platforms, Digital assets, and communication networks, the digital backbone of the energy system.
6. Physical infrastructure: Generation, transmission, distribution, and consumer systems – the physical components driving energy flows.

Each element is consistently defined and linked to real-world standards, legislation or documentation, ensuring accuracy in the information it displays. To make the tool accessible to a wider audience beyond systems engineers, we applied user experience (UX) design principles: simplifying diagrams, ensuring consistency across views, using visual cues and colour-coding, and making navigation intuitive. This ensures the map supports everyone from technical experts to policymakers and innovators.

Insights through mapping: Uncovering barriers

Through close collaboration with SME innovators, system operators and policymakers, two recurring challenges have emerged, both of which the map is designed to address.

Hidden friction in a Digital Infrastructure

Despite the growing role of digital assets, such as electric vehicles and smart appliances, the pathways through which they share data are often fragmented. “Despite standardisation of high-level processes, the implementations vary significantly. This is not discovered until the integration phase and the feedback loops are unclear or slow,” notes a Head of Product from an SME innovator.

Unclear value chains and role overlap

Flexibility services involve a range of actors, including aggregators, suppliers, operators, and service providers, whose roles and responsibilities often overlap or lack clear definition. By modelling these relationships, the map helps reveal duplication, gaps, and underused value, pointing to opportunities for more effective collaboration and innovation.

These insights are not incidental. They are direct outcomes of our systems engineering approach and the ongoing engagement process that underpins the map’s development. By surfacing these barriers, the Flexibility Systems Map can help innovators identify integration challenges early, spot potential partnerships, and focus effort where it’s most needed.

A tool for the whole ecosystem

The Flexibility Systems Map is designed to support a wide range of users across the energy sector:

• Innovators: Identifying where their solutions fit within the broader energy landscape.
• System operators: Enhancing network planning and understanding integration points.
• Policymakers: Assessing the systemic impact of regulation and identifying potential intervention points. Figure 2 shows an overview of the electricity systems functions in which Ofgem is involved.
• Researchers and consultants: Modelling future energy scenarios and understanding system interactions.
• Developers of deep tech: Gaining visibility into the sector’s digital backbone, from AI to blockchain and IoT.

The map will evolve alongside the energy system, incorporating new services, technologies, and relationships. By offering a shared foundation, it supports smarter innovation, clearer policy, and better energy system design.

What’s next? Continuing to evolve

Looking ahead, we’re exploring how artificial intelligence can help maintain and expand the map by automatically tracking regulatory changes and market developments. We’re also investigating ways to represent the underlying data visually, through interactive tools and serious gaming applications, to improve usability and deepen understanding. But perhaps most importantly, we want the map to be tested, shaped and improved by those who will use it. By working with SME innovators and stakeholders to test the map in real-world scenarios, we can ensure it reflects the complexity of the system while remaining practical and usable.

As the UK moves towards a more digital and flexible energy system, tools like the Flexibility Systems Map will play a key role in supporting innovators, policymakers and system operators – enabling smarter decision-making, clearer integration pathways, and stronger collaboration across the sector.

If you’re an SME or innovator working in energy flexibility and want to explore how your solutions fit into the wider system, get in touch. We’re actively developing and testing the Flexibility Systems Map and would welcome collaborators to help shape its evolution.