Harnessing Digital and Data

Distribution network operator, Western Power Distribution, commissioned Energy Systems Catapult to help run their Presumed Open Data challenge to demonstrate value in increasing data accessibility.

WPD had a 6MWh/2.5MW battery connected to a primary distribution substation and a 5MW solar farm in Devon, southwest England.

The challenge was to design the week-ahead control of a storage device to support the distribution network to:

• Maximise the daily evening peak reduction
• Use as much solar photovoltaic energy as possible
• Temperature and irradiance (reanalysis) data from multiple grid points
• Challenge assessed over four weekly tasks plus one practice challenge

Outcomes of the challenge included:

• 365 Registrations for the kick-off event with individuals come from 72 different organisations/institutions, 15 different countries and 30 universities
• 55 teams –  a total of 142 individuals – participated in a least one round
• By the 5th round of tasks, 37 teams survived and and of those 65% outscored the benchmark with the Top 5 teams participating in a special “Value in Energy Data Seminar”.

Places for People collaborated with our Energy Launchpad to identify digital innovators that were developing products and services targeted at Zero Carbon Smart Buildings and Estates, to receive tailored business incubation and acceleration support.

Julie Alexander, Director of Technology & Innovation at Places for People said: “Climate change is the most pressing challenge of our time,  and with the construction sector and buildings being the most prolific polluters.”

“Engaging with the supply chain is the starting point. We want to identify technologies and business models we can deploy that are effective, and deliverable.”

Places for People were focused on developing interoperability across systems, using intelligent infrastructure to help them manage demand and supply and identifying new business models that will allow deployment at scale.

The Innovator Challenge run by Energy Launchpad identified seven SMEs and  each worked with the Catapult and Places for People to develop their innovations.

Equiwatt incentivises consumers to save energy at peak times through an app-based rewards scheme, by using smart meter data to monitor household energy use and automatically turn-off appliances to reduce demand during peak times.

The Newcastle-based innovator needed help preparing for an investment round and to scale up their customer base.

Energy Systems Catapult through our Energy Launchpad carried out a Digital Energy Fitness Assessment, along with reviews of their Business Model, their Policy and Regulatory landscape, Consumer Insight and support with investor readiness.

Equiwatt found the inclusion of an independent Digital Energy Fitness Assessment was a crucial factor in helping secure over £300,000 in investment to progress scale up plans through a funding round involving the North East Venture Fund.

Amp X are developing an autonomous, digital energy assistant ‘ALICE’ with a trial in the Living Lab. The ALICE platform aims to help UK households reduce their energy costs and carbon intensity through autonomous demand-side-response decisions based on real-world market signals.

ALICE will schedule energy usage by household devices’ when the energy is greenest and cheapest, with the aim that households could benefit by providing flexibility to local networks to improve grid resilience and maximise renewable energy usage.

The trial sees the ALICE energy assistant installed in 60 Living Lab homes with support from:

• Consumer Insight – specialists to help Amp X understand household experiences, test the benefits and to understand the customer value proposition
• Data Science – expertise to test the interface between the ALICE and a variety of in-home devices, including: Electric Vehicles chargers, smart meters, Heating, Ventilation and Air-Conditioning controls, and general appliances.