Grand Challenge Industrial Solutions

This section will highlight examples of some organisations which are utilising AI in applications related to the grand challenge areas.

Unlocking Domestic Decarbonisation

The following organisations produce products for smart home heating including preheating, radiator values, and zonal control:

• Drayton: part of Schneider Electric
• Somfy
• Heatio: smart home and energy efficiency recommendations
• Passiv UK: Smart pre-heating and cooling, and assess heating system performance.
• Homely: learns household characteristics and preheat to minimise running costs

Smart home/building:

• Octopus: providing home flexibility and demand side response.
• Smappee
• Ovo Energy: including smart thermostats

Using AI to support heat pump installations and operation:

• Nesta: using generative AI chatbot prototype
• Kensa Heat pumps: using AI for monitoring and predictive maintenance
• heatly: developing app for installers to survey, install and commission

Using AI to upskill:

• Warmur Academy: using AI agent to help installers upskill

Storage for homes:

• Sunamp: Heat and thermal batteries which can be linked to heat pumps, solar PV.
• Swarm: Optimise battery and solar installations
• Lunar Energy: solar-battery system using predictive AI to help scheduling.

District heating

• City Science: Using AI to design heat networks, and also home retrofitting.
• Guru Systems: Use machine learning to pinpoint and resolve issues on heat networks
• Veolia: monitor and control heating network.

Enabling Net Zero Infrastructure

The following organisations are utilising AI to support developing networks and connect renewables.

• Continuum Industries: Their platform utilises AI to accelerate infrastructure planning, identify better network route options, site selection and optioneering for energy infrastructure and grid connections.
• HData: HData a US company use the analysis and comparison of regulatory documents to speed up the interconnection queue, and approvals for renewable connections.
• CarbonFreed: Utilise AI to speed up certification of new wind and solar PV systems by compiling, evaluating and documenting data and information.
• Energy Networks Association: ENA have developed an AI-powered platform designed to streamline the connections process for domestic low-carbon technologies by assessing installer images to verify electrical cut-outs.
• Enverus: Help reduce the interconnection challenge and support asset developers by assigning probability scores to estimate likelihoods for projects being connected.
• Pacific Northwest National Laboratory: The US Department of Energy has announced a $13 million VoltAIc initiative to streamline siting and permitting of critical clean energy infrastructure by creating an AI-ready searchable database of Policy Act reviews.

Maximising Flexibility in Energy Networks

The following are some organisations that play roles in flexibility services in the UK.

• National Electricity System Operator: The National Electricity System Operator (NESO) develop complex forecast models to estimate how much electricity the system needs and utilises the balancing mechanism to buy and procure the right amount of electricity required to balance the system.
• Distribution System Operators: DSOs are responsible for managing the flow of electricity within their local distribution networks. they are emerging from the current Distribution Network Operators (DNOs) who manage the local networks. The main DNOs/DSOs in the UK are Electricity Northwest (ENW), Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks (SSEN), Scottish Power Energy Networks (SPEN), UK Power Networks (UKPN), Northern Powergrid (NPG), National Grid Electricity Distribution (NGED), and Northern Ireland Electricity Networks (NIEN).
• Drax: A leading power generator who operate Drax ElectriFlex, a demand management scheme, and the demand flexibility service (DFS) for NESO.
• Centrica Energy Storage: A major player in the UK gas storage market, provides roughly half of the UK’s gas storage.
• Arenko: Develops and provides software platforms and technologies that enable the advanced optimization and control of flexible energy assets
• Modo Energy: platform that provide research, indices, and forecasts to support battery energy storage revenues.
• EDF Energy: Enables businesses to optimise assets to reduce costs and support the network through load shifting.