Good Energy commissioned Energy Systems Catapult to carry out whole system scenario modelling – with the specific constraints of allowing no nuclear power or fossil fuel energy supply – to determine if Net Zero by 2050 was still possible.

We utilised our Energy System Modelling Environment – which is a peer reviewed, least cost optimisation model. Plus our new ESME Flex – which provides a greater level of detail into how the energy system might function under Good Energy’s chosen scenarios.

The ESME Flex platform produces highly granular dispatch information and explores the different roles and responsibilities of energy technologies and services in 2050, on an hour-by-hour basis.

Good Energy used the modelling results to compile a report supporting their efforts to increase renewable energy generation and storage in the coming decades.

Energy Systems Catapult was commissioned by the Offshore Wind Industry Council  to (a) consider the impact of very high levels of offshore wind on the energy system, and how these impacts could be mitigated; and, (b) identify opportunities to strengthen offshore wind’s role in delivering innovative solutions to system integration.

We utilised our internationally peer-reviewed, least cost optimisation model Energy Systems Modelling Environment and our new ESME Flex, the report “Solving the offshore wind integration challenge”, to analyse a large number of possible future energy system configurations.

The analysis found:

• At least 50-70GW of offshore wind was deployed in almost all scenarios to 2050, underlining its important future role in the UK energy system.
• Credible systems are possible at significantly higher levels, with up to 150GW systems modelled.
• Hydrogen plays an important role in decarbonising certain sectors, particularly industry and some transport and heating.
• Future systems with a diverse generation mix, including clean thermal and nuclear power, have advantages over a system dominated by a single technology.
• Reform of electricity markets is essential to unlock the potential of offshore wind, and ensure a more flexible demand side is established to match higher penetrations of wind.

UK Energy Research Centre commissioned Energy Systems Catapult and the Advanced Propulsion Centre UK to explore different pathways for reducing freight emissions from Heavy Goods Vehicles.

With little industry momentum and a severe lack of workable low emission prototype vehicles, the challenge was to develop an accurate and usable model  to provide evidence that encouraged the UK transport sector to embrace cleaner alternatives.

Rather than focus on vehicle weights (like most existing models), we focused on the specific use cases (e.g. long-haul vs. local depot deliveries) to identify the technical specifications needed to achieve zero emissions and the infrastructure that will need to be in place to support the vehicle uptake.

The result was ESME Freight.

ESME Freight was used to engage the Department for Transport on:

• Including operators’ decision parameters and behaviours into modelling to better inform policy interventions and align operators’ choices with the required deployment of technologies and infrastructure.
• Assessing how policy decisions can support freight operators and  infrastructure roll-out to facilitate carbon-free powertrains.

Following project completion, we’ve used the tool to engage with the UK Department of Transport and wider industry to explore how they could benefit from enhanced freight modelling to inform policy making.

Energy Systems Catapult collaborated with UK Power Networks (UKPN) under Network Innovation Allowance funding to investigate the behaviour of domestic electricity consumers and the distribution network supplying them under a Cold Start scenario in 2030.

With electrification of heating and transport expected to be at far higher levels in the next decade, an extended power outage under severe weather conditions would lead to a sudden demand surge to levels far higher than normal peak levels as electrical devices are reactivated.

Using our innovative EnergyPath® Operations tool, we created a Dynamic Energy Systems Simulation using a portion of real electricity network to understand the physical impacts of fault conditions on energy assets and appliances within the network under different outage scenarios. A range of metrics were produced, including power flows, voltages, loading and balancing.

The results will allow UKPN to identify:

• Network areas with high risk of adverse effects from power restoration after Cold Start.
• Mitigation measures such as operational policies, network controls, demand-side flexibility and conventional reinforcement.
• Explore novel mitigation methods based on in-home appliance flexibility.