英文2024年能源领域数字化策略白皮书

DigitalSolutionsfortheEnergySector

ADigitalCatapultwhitepaper

May2024

Thedevelopmentofthiswhitepaperwas

part-fundedbytheHydrogenInnovationInitiative.

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DocumentUserGuide

Contents

Introduction

StartofsectionContentspage

Previouspage

Nextpage

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UKdigitalsectorandkeytechnologies

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Enablingnetzeroinfrastructure

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Maximisingflexibilityintheenergysystem

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Futurechallenges

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Introduction

Theenergyindustryisexperiencingasignificanttransitiontowardsdecentralisation,decarbonisation,anddigitisation.

Thistransitionwillprovidenewopportunitiesand

challengesforinvestmentandgrowthforbothdomesticandinternationalplayers.

Energystakeholdershaverecognisedthataccessto

live,usabledatahasbecomeessentialtomanaging

energysystemstodayandinthefuture,andthatdigitaltechnologiesareacrucialtoolinthejourneytonetzero.

Inthe2023updatetoTrackingCleanEnergyProgress

(TCEP),theInternationalEnergyAgency(IEA)reportsthat

worldwidegrid-relatedinvestmentindigitaltechnologieshasgrownbyover50%since2015,withtotalgridinvestment

expectedtohavegrownby19%in2023.Duringthisperiod,investmentindigital-relatedgridefficiencycontinuedto

grow,reachinganewhighofUS$63billiongloballyin2022.

TheIEAalsoestimatesthatoverallinvestmentinelectricitygrids‘needstoaveragearoundUS$600billionannually

throughto2030togetontheNZEScenariotrajectory.Thisisalmostdoublethecurrentinvestmentlevels,ataroundUS$300billionperyear’.

ThisreportlooksatchallengessharedacrosstheUKenergysector,aswellasdigitalinterventionsthatwillenabletheUKenergyecosystemtodeliverlowcarbonenergyfasterandmorereliably.

Wealsolookattheimpactthatthegrowthofdigital

technologiesandinfrastructureishavingontheenergysector,andhowresponsibletechnologyleadershipisrequiredtoenableagreendigitaltransition.

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UKdigital

sectorandkeytechnologies

Advanceddigitaltechnologies6

Thegreendigitaltransition7

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UKdigitalsectorandkeytechnologies

TheUKranksfirstinEuropeandthirdintheworldforthedevelopmentanduptakeofadvanceddigitaltechnologies.

DigitalCatapultFutureIndex,2022

ThepastfewyearshaveseenunprecedentedandsignificantchangeacrossUKsocietyandoureconomy.Thepandemic,leavingtheEuropeanUnion,andtherecognitionof(and

responsesto)theclimateemergencyhaveallplayedamajorpartinthesechanges.

Wehaveseenanaccelerationinthepaceatwhich

businessesareembracingdigitalisation,inordertocopewithchallengesandopportunitiesarisingfromremoteworking;health,safetyandsocialdistancing;changingconsumerhabits;andshockstosupplychains.

UKdigitalsectorandkeytechnologies5

Advanceddigitaltechnologies

InternetofThings&

CyberPhysicalSystems

ImmersiveTechnology&SpatialCompute

FutureNetworks:

5G/6GTelecoms&Testing

ArtificialIntelligence&DataScience

QuantumTechnologies

DistributedSystems&DataPrivacy

AtDigitalCatapultweseeadvanceddigitaltechnologiesasthefundamentalbuildingblocksforthefuture,essentialtorealisingeconomicgrowthandbuildingcompetitiveness

acrosstheUK.Suchtechnologiesincludeartificial

intelligence,extendedrealitytechnologies(suchasvirtual,mixed,augmentedrealityandhaptics,knowncollectivelyasXR)andspatialcomputing;distributedledgertechnologies(DLT),andrelatedprivacy-preservingandsecuredata

sharingtechnologies;5G/6Gandfuturenetworks,the

internetofthings(IoT),cyberphysicalsystems(CPS)andquantumcomputing.

In2021/22DigitalCatapult’sDigitalFutureIndexidentifiedkeyandemergingtrendsinadvanceddigitaltechnologies,andhighlightedthestrengthsandchallengesfacingtheUKintheiradoptionandinnovation.Ourresearchfoundthat

theUKisrankedthirdintheworld(behindonlytheUSandChina)andfirstinEuropeforthedevelopmentanduptakeofadvanceddigitaltechnologies.Thisrankingwasbasedonassessmentoftalent,investment,research,innovationandinfrastructureacrossthesetechnologiesforeachcountry.

UKdigitalsectorandkeytechnologies6

Thegreendigitaltransition

TheUKhasover4,000advanceddigitaltechnology

companiesinoperation,puttingusinanexcellentpositiontoleveragethesecapabilitiesforthefutureoftheenergysector,evenastheworldcompetestodevelopandadoptsophisticatednewcapabilitiesinspatialcomputing,digitaltwinsandprocesstransformationthroughcomplexroboticandautonomoussystems.

ThismakestheUKenergysectorwell-placedtotakeadvantageofexistingdigitalexpertiseandacceleratetonetzerothroughagreendigitaltransition.Thisrequiresjoined-upapproachestosharedchallengesandopportunitiesacrossourdigitalisation

anddecarbonisationjourney,focusedonbuildingcapabilities,skillsandbestpracticesacrossbothadvanceddigital

technologycompaniesandenergysectoradopters.

Whiletheenergysystemhasmultipleelements—electricity,

naturalgas,hydrogen,andawholehostofdifferentrenewables—therearesharedchallengesacrossthesectorthatdigitalcansolve.Thispaperfocusesonthetwomainareaswheredigitaltechnologycanplayakeyroleintheshortterm:enablingnetzeroinfrastructureanddeliveringflexibility.

UKdigitalsectorandkeytechnologies7

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Enablingnetzeroinfrastructure

Enablinginfrastructuresupplychains

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Enablingtelecoms/wirelessinfrastructure

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Aconnectedenergyworkforce

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Theskillsshortage

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Enablingnetzeroinfrastructure

Electrificationofheatingandtransportationcombinedwiththeincreaseinrenewablesmeansthatweneedsignificantexpansionofourelectricitynetworks,aswellaswaystomanagenetworkconstraints.

Deliveringattherequiredscale—and

pace—isarealchallenge,especiallyasthereismuchrenewablegenerationbeingheldupduetodelaysoruncertaintyin

networkconnections.

Enablinginfrastructuresupplychains

Thedemandfornewenergyinfrastructureishuge.For

example,tomeet2030targets,theoffshorewindindustryneedstodeliverfourtimesmoretransmissioninfrastructureinthenextsevenyearsthanithasinthelastthirtyyears.

Whileahugeamountofrenewableenergyinfrastructure

hasalreadybeenprocuredandbuilt,connectingrenewablesatdistributionlevelinvolvesawaitofupto15years.This

queuerepresentsaround400GWofunconnectedrenewableassets:so-called‘zombieassets’.

Enablingnetzeroinfrastructure9

Whilethereareanumberofreasonsforthiswait,oneoftheproblemstobeovercomeistheneedtoincreaseinvestmentconfidencebybeingabletoconsistentlysecuretheon-time

supplyofhigh-quality,cost-effectivekeycomponents(suchascables,transformers,andinverters)forenergytransmission.

Unfortunately,overthepasttwoyears,multipledisruptionshaveaffectedtransmissionsupplychains,especiallythe

keycomponentssupplychain.Thesupplychainisgrapplingwithnumerouschallenges,compoundedbytheeffectsofthepandemicandtheRussianinvasionofUkraine.These

disruptions—logisticsbottlenecks,shortagesofraw

materials,keycomponentrequirements(suchasHVDCcable),labourandskillsshortages—haveresultedinrisingcosts,

longerleadtimes,scarcityofessentialcomponents,and

lowerinvestmentconfidence.Thegaphaswidenedbetween

demandandsupplyofequipmentandkeycomponents,slowingoffshorewind’spotentialtoacceleratepowersystemdecarbonisation.

Atthecurrentpaceofchange,theUKwillfailtohitits2035target,andlow-carbonprojectsnowface15-yeardelaystoconnecttotheelectricitynetwork.

DecarbonisationofthePowerSector

(HouseofCommonsinquiry,April,2023)

Enablingnetzeroinfrastructure10

Howaconnectedenergyinfrastructureoperates

1.Thesteamturbineinthepowerplantspinsat50Hz.Itconnectstoageneratorwhichconvertsthespintoalternatingcurrent.

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2.Thegeneratordoesthisbysettingelectromagneticfieldsoscillatinginthewiresofthegrid:aseaof

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electronssloshingtoandfro50timesasecond,syncedtotheturbine’sspin.

3.Thatsameseaofelectronsrunsintothewiringofyourhome,andintoyourwashingmachine.

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Then,anelectricmotorinvertsthegenerator’swork,convertingthesloshingmotionofelectronsbackintoaphysicalmovementi.e.themechanicalactionthatspinsthewashingmachine.

4.Theelectrictygeneratedfromwind

turbinesandsolarpanelsisnotprovidedatthesteadyfrequencyof50Hzthatthegridrequires.Inordertojointhegrid,

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theelectricityfromthewindturbinesandsolarpannelsmustbeharmonisedto50Hzatasubstation.Onlythencanelectrictyjointhewiresofthegridandbedistributedtoyourhome.

Enablingnetzeroinfrastructure11

HVDC(highvoltagedirectcurrent)cableisagoodexample

ofthedisruptionofasupplychainthat’sfundamental

todeliveringtheUK’srenewableenergytargets.Global

manufacturingislargelyatcapacity,andinternationaldemandisgrowingrapidly,leadingtoinflatedprices,deliverydelays,

anduncertaintyaroundthecapacitytomeetdemandforthe

nexttenyears.TheHVDCsupplychainhasbecomestressed,withlittledepth,over-relianceonaregionalsupplier,and

limitedskilledresourcesavailabletodesign,construct,deliver,install,commission,andmaintainitsassociatedinfrastructure.

Insituationswhendemandoutstripssupply,suchasinthecaseofcomponentsessentialforlinkingrenewablesto

thewiderenergynetwork,supplychainvisualisation,

transparency,andprioritisationarecrucialtodetermining

howtoensureefficientprocurement,andwherecomponentsshouldbedirected.

Enablingtelecoms/wirelessinfrastructure

Advancedcommunicationsareanessentialpartofthe

digitalinfrastructureneededfordigitalisation.Considerableeffortismadetoaddressenergysystemdigitalisation,

buttherequirementforessentialdigitalinfrastructureand

communicationsisnotattractingcommensurateattention-thereisoftenanassumptionthattheyarealreadyinplace,orwillotherwisebeavailablewhenneeded.

Currentdevelopmenteffortsinadvancedcommunications

arebeingmadetoaddresseconomicandsocialoutcomes.Butthesefocusongeneralconsumers,notontheprovisionofservicesthatcouldsupportmission-criticalapplicationsornationalinfrastructuresuchastheenergysystem.End-to-endintegrationofenergyanddigitalinfrastructureisstillrelativelyunexploredinthedepthnecessarytoassureoutcomes—

muchisbeingtakenforgranted.

Enablingnetzeroinfrastructure12

Asaresult,thereissomedegreeofuncertaintyoverwhatthefuturewirelesscommunicationinfrastructurewilllooklike

fortheUKnetwork.Therearenumerousdecisionsthatneedtobemade,arangeofoptionstobeconsidered,andmanystakeholderswhoshouldbeengagedintheprocess.

Atahighlevel,therearefourmainoptionsfordeliveringadvancedcommunication:

■Publicandprivatefibrenetworks

■Commercialradiofrequencynetworks

■Privateradiofrequencynetworks

■Blendedapproachusingdifferenttechnologies

Publicandprivatefibrenetworks

Fibrenetworksareatried-and-testedmethodofconnectingenergyinfrastructuretocommunicationsnetworks.They

haveaproventrackrecordindeliveringthereliability,

resiliency,latency,andsecurityneededfornetwork

operation.However,thistechnologycomeswiththe

challengeofrequiringphysicalaccess,andarelianceoncostlycivilworksrequiringsignificantcapitalinvestment.

Inisolation,fibrenetworkspresentanoptionthatis

theoreticallystrong,particularlyfornetworkoperationsandusecaseswherebalancingresilience,reliability,andsecurityiscritical.However,applicationsrequiringtheconnection

ofmillionsofassetswouldbecostly,andpotentiallyrelyonpublicnetworksandthe

UniversalServiceObligation

tofacilitateconnectiontohomesacrossthecountry.

Commercialradiofrequencynetworks

Commercialradiofrequencynetworkspresenttheopportunitytouseinfrastructureandmarketsthatarealreadyestablished.

Enablingnetzeroinfrastructure13

Inpayingcommercialnetworkoperatorsforusageand

datatransfer,energynetworkscouldbenefitfromthetechnologyrefreshcyclesthatarealreadyintegratedwithinbusinessmodels,andtherewillbenofurtherrequirementforspectrumallocation.

However,theuseofcommercialnetworkspresentsconcerns

aroundthesecurity,reliability,bandwidth,andavailabilityneededtoguaranteesecurityofsupplyforenergy.Thecommercial

mobilenetworksareoptimisedtobeefficientandlow-cost.

Consequently,theyarefocusedonhigh-populationdensityareasand,whilereliable,donotmeettheresiliencyandreliability

standardsofenergynetworks.Furthermore,thisoption

wouldinvolveexposuretothebusinessmodelsoftheUK’scommunicationsnetworkoperators.

Usingcommercialradiofrequencycouldpresentsomecostefficiency,particularlywhenservingapplicationswherelargebandwidthandcoverageareimportantbutresilienceand

reliabilityarelesscritical,suchasconnectionstoprivateEVchargersorsmallremoteassets.

Privateradiofrequencynetworks

Usingprivateradiofrequencynetworkswouldleveragethe

benefitsofradiofrequencytechnologywhileretainingcontroloverthesecurity,resilience,andreliabilityofthenetwork.Thistype

ofnetworkwouldrequirecapitalinvestmentincommunication

infrastructuretoestablishprivatespectrumcommunications,withoperatingcostsforbandwidthusageanddatatransfer,aswell

aseventuallyhavingtocoveratechnologyrefresh.Importantly,allocationofspectrumaccesswouldbeneededforthissolution.

Privateradiofrequencynetworkswouldgivetheenergynetworkscontroloverreliability,latency,security,andbandwidth,allowingthemtoefficientlydelivernetworkbalancing,operability,and

locationalpricing.

Enablingnetzeroinfrastructure14

Ablendedapproach

Fibreandradiofrequencynetworksarebothvaluable

solutionstodifferentchallenges.Ablendedapproach

introducesthepossibilityofoptimisingthecommunicationsinfrastructure,enablingnetworkstodrawonthemost

appropriatesolutionforeachsituation.However,this

requiresadditionalresourcestoconductacase-by-caseassessment,andwouldintroduceadditionaldeliveryandoperationscomplexity.

Takingablendedapproachrequiresinfrastructuretobe

designed,built,implemented,andintegratedwiththeexistingenergyandcommunicationsnetworks.Thisapproachalsoprovidestheflexibilitytosupportmanydifferentapplications:itcouldprovidesecurity,reliability,andresiliencefornetworkoperabilityandbalancing,whileofferingenoughscaleto

connectwithandcollectdatafrommillionsofdevices.

Eachofthesetechnologieshasaroletoplay.Astheyaretoday,thefutureenergynetworkscouldbesupportedbydifferenttechnologies,dependingonthemarket,andtheregulatoryandtechnologicalenvironmentsthatthey

operatewithin.

Whicheverrouteistaken,thereisanurgentneedforcross-sector

collaboration—withinandbeyondtheenergysector—toorchestrateacoherentcommunication

infrastructurethatefficientlyoperatestheenergynetworks.

Enablingnetzeroinfrastructure15

Aconnectedenergyworkforce

Digitaltechnologypresentsgreatopportunitiestosupport

engineersinthefield.Theyareoftenloneworkersresponsibleformaintainingvitalinfrastructureinenergygeneration,

transmission,ordistribution,ensuringthathomesandbusinesseshavereliablepower.Wehaveidentifiedthreeareaswhereweseedigitaltechnologiessupporting

engineersworkingonmaintainingUKenergyinfrastructure.Maximisingthespeedandefficiencywithwhicheachtaskisscheduledandcompleted(whetheranemergencyorplannedmaintenance)isofhugevaluetoaconnectedworkforce,

helpingthemtocompletejobssafely,accurately,andquickly.

Augmentedreality(AR)support

Whenworkingatheight,carryingdocumentsandschematicswhilealsousingtoolscanbedifficult.Here,augmentedrealitycanbeavaluablecompanion.Usingasmartphoneoraheadset,ARcanoverlaydigitalinformationsuchasreferenceimagesortextontotheuser’sviewofthereal-worldenvironment.

Thisisapracticalandhands-onwaytoenhancefieldengineers’

efficiencyandaccuracyindiagnosingandaddressing

maintenanceissues.ByusingARtechnologytoprovidereal-timeguidanceandinstructions,engineerscanswiftlyidentifyandresolveissues,whichhelpstominimisedowntimeandenhanceservicereliability.

Inthenearfuture,spatialcomputingplatformssimilarto

Apple’snewextendedrealityheadsetwillalsoallowtheenergysectortousemorecomplexmixedrealityenvironments.As

newenterpriseservicesandapplicationsaredevelopedforspatialcomputing,theseplatformsmaybecomeanend-to-endgeospatialsolutionthatcanbeusedtointegratephysicalenvironmentdataandenablescalablesimulationsand

modellingforengineeringenvironments.

Enablingnetzeroinfrastructure16

Expeditingfaultrepairsusinglargelanguagemodels(LLM)

Whenengineersareworkingonafault,asignificant

amountoftimeisoftenspentonunderstandingwhat

thesourceoftheproblemis,andwhythefaultmayhaveoccurred.ThroughagenerativeAItechniqueknownas

retrievableaugmentedgeneration(RAG),engineersinthefieldcouldprovideinformationontheproblemandaskforpossiblecauses.

TheAIwouldthenlookatexternaldatafeeds(suchas

weatherconditions),structuredmaintenancedata(suchasreportlogsfromacrossthesector),aswellasunstructureddata(suchasinstructionmanuals,productspecifications)toanalysewhattheproblemscouldbe.Thesystemthen

replieswithpotentialcausesfortheerror,troubleshootinginformation,andcitationsforthesourcesthathavebeenusedtomakethatdecision,allowingtheengineerto

immediatelybeginaddressingtheproblem.

Thisreducesdisruptionforcustomersbyminimisingoutagesandimprovingservicereliability,ultimately

leadingtofewercustomerminuteslostandincreasedcustomersatisfaction.

Enablingnetzeroinfrastructure17

DigitalCatapult’sbasicPoVforretrieval

augmentedgenerationLLMsformaintenance

Unstructuredreports,

manuals,etc...

StructuredDatafeeds

maintenancedata(weatherrecords,etc...)

Reliable,conventionalsearchandretrieval

Customised,intelligentRAGpre-processor

Knowledge-augmentedquery

Maintenanceengineer

LLM

>

“Whatarethreelikelycausesofafailurewithxcharacteristics,inyarea,onzday?”

Knowledgeresponse

withcitationstodata

Enablingnetzeroinfrastructure18

Connectedmobilestores

Engineersworkinginremotelocationshavealargenumberoftoolsintheirvans,withtheaimofhavingeverything

theyneedon-hand.However,keepinganinventoryof

everyvehicle’sstoreswhileoutinthefieldcanbedifficult.

Reachingasitewithoutaparticulartoolcanresultina

significantdelaytomaintenance,whiletoolsbeingleftbehindon-sitecanbecostlytothenetworkorsystemoperator.

Adistributedandautomatedstorecanbeusedtocreateadigitallyauditableinventoryandtrackwherepartsandtoolsareacrossthenetwork,enablingvan-to-vanexchangewhenanengineerdoesnothavearequiredpieceofequipment.

Thistechnologyprovidesfieldworkerswithreal-time

visibilityofinventorylevels,andcreatesadistributedassetstoragemodelthatcandecreasewarehousingexpensesandstreamlinedresourcemanagement.Additionalfeaturescouldbeincluded,suchasasafetyalarmifthevanhasnotsensedtheworkerafterasettimeperiod.

Theskillsshortage

ThescarcityofdigitalandAIskilledresourcesworking

towardsdecarbonisationoftheenergysystemisan

industry-wideconcern.AgrowingnumberoforganisationsintheUKarelookingtoaddressthis,includingthe

AIfor

DecarbonisationVirtualCentreofExcellence

(ADViCE).

ADViCEisco-deliveredbyDigitalCatapult,EnergySystemsCatapult,andTheAlanTuringInstitute,andconnectsAI

resourceswithwiderindustryadopters,solveschallenges,andcreatesspaceforcollaboration.

Enablingnetzeroinfrastructure19

Managinglogisticscomplexityforworkersinthefield

DigitalCatapult'sdistributedassetstoragesolutiondeliversimprovementsinefficiency,effectiveness

andsituationalawarenesswhenmanaginginventoryinremoteandlastmilelocations.

ItusesIoTtechnologyto:

Integrationwithtrackandtraceandinventorymanagementsystems

Automaticallylogitemsenteringandleavingacontainerorvehicle

Providereal-timeviewofinventorylevels

Enableautomaticvan-to-vanstockexchange

Automaticallytrackthelocationofassets

Loneworkerlocationandalertmanagement

Self-containedwithbatteryandsolarpanels

Gatewayconnectsviacellularor

satellitenetwork

TrackdistributedinventoryinrealtimeviaIoTtrackers

Enablingnetzeroinfrastructure20

3

Maximising

flexibilityintheenergysystem

Advancesensing

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Energyforecasting,predictingandtracking

23

Estimatingflexibilityusingdigitaltwins

23

21

Maximisingflexibilityintheenergysystem

Renewablegenerationcanbevolatileanduncertain.Similarly,atlowvoltageand

buildinglevel,energyusecanbeirregularandthereforedifficulttopredictaccurately.

Alow-carbonfuturerequiresenergydemandtoflex,sothatweconsumeandstoreenergywhenthewindisblowingandthesunisshining.Thisisaradicalchangeinapproachfornetworkandmarketoperations,andrequiresanunderlyingintroductionofnewtechnologies.Thispresentsahostof

newchallenges.Inadditiontoimprovingconsumerenergyefficiency,energydemandandgenerationwillneedtobemanagedtomeetnetzero.

Renewablegenerationtendstowardsdecentralisedand

specificlocations,andisoftenweather-dependent.Tomakethemostoftheseresourcesandensurebalancerequires

shiftingdemandtomatchgeneration,andstoringenergyforfutureuse.

Devicessuchasheatpumpsandelectricvehiclesthathaveintegratedcommunicationsandcontrollabletechnology

alsocouldbeusedtohelpsupportthenetwork.However,controllingthesedeviceswouldbeaconsiderabletask,especiallysincethereisaneedtooptimiseformultiplefactors:consumerneeds,localandnationalnetwork

constraints,andlocalandnationalgeneration.

Maximisingflexibilityintheenergysystem22

Advancesensing

ThechallengesreportpublishedbytheAIfor

DecarbonisationVirtualCentreofExcellence(ADViCE),

highlightsthreeofthekeyrequirementsfordigitalsolutionsdeliveringenergyflexibility:

■Timeseriesdata:timeseriesdatafordemand,

generation,andweathertoproduceforecaststhatcanbeusedforstorageschedulingandotherapplications

■Demandoptimisation:accordingtonetworkconstraints,demand,generation,costs,andexternalvariablessuchasweatherandnetworktopology

■Geospatialdata:understandingnetworktopology,whatisconnected,thepotentialeffectoftheweatherorclimate,andwhatotherassetstherearenearbythatcouldbeused

Energyforecasting,predictingandtracking

Aswemovetowardsnetzero,wewanttobeabletoverify

thattheenergyweuseisgreen.Thisisparticularlytrueforhydrogen,wherethevaryingproductionmethodsaffectitslevelofsustainability,whichiswhyhydrogenisdescribed

usingdifferentcolours(onlygreenhydrogenis100%carbon-neutral).Howeverthesedifferentformsarenotvisibly

differentoncetheyenterthegasnetwork.

Estimatingflexibilityusingdigitaltwins

Adigita