Recent Additions to the EDC

A comprehensive synthesis of two decades of UK energy and mobility research, providing evidence to inform strategic transport decarbonisation policy.

The UK is facing an energy crisis on three fronts: climate change, energy security, and affordability. Energy demand reduction is fundamental to improving the UK’s performance on all three. Research has shown that reducing energy use could meet half of the required greenhouse gas emissions reductions needed by 2050 for the UK to become a Net Zero society (EDRC, 2023). Lower energy demand reduces the scale of energy supply decarbonisation needed, and is essential if the UK is to meet its carbon emission reduction goals. By 2050 we have the potential to halve our energy demand in transport, housing and nutrition (CREDS, 2022). All the National Energy System Operator’s (NESO) ‘Future Energy Scenarios’ expect substantial energy savings through demand reductions by 2050 (NESO, 2024). The ability to control energy demand is also viewed as a key component of enabling flexibility in the energy system, something that will become increasingly important as more intermittent renewable energy supplies are installed (EDRC, 2024). Some academics have noted that a disproportionate amount of focus, funding and effort is placed on supply side solutions to energy decarbonisation, and that rebalancing this effort is therefore essential. Reducing energy demand is not, however, without its challenges, and the different solutions for doing so vary between sectors. To effectively enact demand reductions, efforts and coordination would be needed from government, utility companies, NGOs and others.

The UK’s historic fossil fuel-based energy system could easily adjust to changing demand by ramping production up or down. This system provided electricity, heat and transportation fuels in a largely dependable and predictable way. Its reliability was underpinned by straightforward energy storage: coal piles (for electricity), pipes and chambers full of gas (for heat), and oil/petrochemical tanks (as transport fuels). But as the climate impacts of fossil fuel use have become clear, the energy system has begun shifting towards low-carbon alternatives—posing new challenges for how we store energy. Unlike fossil fuels, renewable energy sources like wind and solar are variable and less controllable. Solar generation fluctuates with daylight, while wind output depends on weather. These sources don’t always align with energy demand, which itself varies daily and seasonally (although demand for energy currently follows relatively consistent patterns). As a result, the system requires new forms of flexibility to avoid a host of technical, economic and social problems (Royal Society, 2023). Part of this flexibility will need to come from energy storage.

Heating is central to our lives. In our homes, we rely on it for comfort, cooking and washing. Businesses need heating and cooling for productive workplaces and heat is integral to many industrial processes. It is the biggest reason we consume energy in our society (BEIS, 2018). While greenhouse gas emissions from heat generation in the UK have fallen by over a quarter from 1990 levels, they still account for the highest proportion of energy end use emissions (NESO, 2024). Although there is an ever-increasing adoption of lower carbon heat technologies, around 85% of our heating supply (commercial, industrial and domestic) still comes from burning fossil fuels. This proportion is even higher for domestic heating, at over 90% (DESNZ, 2023). Reliance on fossil fuels for heat also carries risks for energy security and non-greenhouse-gas emissions which can be harmful to health. There are also concerns as to the heat efficiency of our homes. The Office for National Statistics (2024) has measured a median energy performance score of ‘D’ for buildings across the UK (on an Energy Performance Certificate scale of A to G). Several other metrics also point to the relative underperformance of the UK housing stock by European standards. Since it is expected that 80% of existing buildings will still be in use in 2050, retrofitting to improve their thermal efficiency will be vital, as will setting out more stringent insulation standards for new builds. For the UK Government to achieve its ambitions of net zero emissions by 2050, emissions from heat will need to be cut dramatically, with the Climate Change Committee identifying it as a particular area of focus in its report to parliament (Climate Change Committee, 2024).

A ‘whole systems’ approach to energy seeks to encompass all aspects of the energy system and its interdependencies by developing evidence to support scenario building and models that demonstrate how this system will evolve (UKRI, 2024). It provides insights into how changes to individual components can influence broader system behaviour (Energy Systems Catapult, 2024). This approach integrates engineering, economics, and physical, environmental, and social dimensions, viewing the energy system as dynamically complex. It broadly encompasses the technologies, physical infrastructure, institutions, policies, and practices within the UK that work together to deliver energy services to consumers. Prior to the UK Government’s Energy Review in 2004, the delivery of energy in the UK was largely managed via three separate systems - electricity, natural gas and liquid hydrocarbons. Although there were interactions in the margins of these three systems (not least the use of natural gas for electricity production), they were largely dedicated to separate end uses – an electricity system, a natural gas system for heat, and liquid hydrocarbons system for transport. The 2004 review, authored by the Cabinets Office’s Performance and Innovation Unit, was purposed with driving the transformative change required to modernise the UK’s energy system. It took a more holistic perspective, emphasising the need for a strategic and integrated approach to dealing with the UK’s energy challenges and, in doing so, laid the foundations for whole systems thinking within the energy sector.

Being able to use common terminology helps in the discovery, use and reuse of objects in the energy sphere. The FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable and Reusable) principles specify the use of domain specific common terminology which can be referenced and accessed by machine. The first interoperable principle states that “(meta)data use a formal, accessible, shared, and broadly applicable language for knowledge representation.” There are two purposes for this work: firstly to establish if there is a single semantic artefact that satisfies this criteria for the energy community and secondly to identify possible candidates that would improve the current classification schemes in use. by the EDC <p> The energy field for research, development and operation is very multi-disciplinary, it ranges over domains from psychology to heavy engineering, including materials development, economics, politics and agriculture. This spread of domains means that there is not a single community to develop agreed controlled vocabularies but many, each focussed on their needs. <p>

The technical implementation of the Energy Data Centre’s repository started in 2004 and does not provide any machine access to the content for external users. The changes in requirements for repository usage, content discoverability and reuse, and the ability to implement the Findable, Accessible, Interoperable and Reusable (FAIR) principles has led to the identification of a need to specify and then develop an API for the Energy Data Centre’s service focussed on research data.

This report presents an analysis of the barriers to data sharing identified by participants of the data sharing for energy modelling workshop, using the DINI barriers and FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable and Reusable) approach to make a set of recommendations to address those barriers.

This working paper addresses the question of how the UK’s energy security can be better measured, managed and communicated over the course of the transition.

Over the last five years, UKERC’s independent analysis has delivered valuable insights into the diverse factors that need to be addressed in order to accelerate the decarbonisation of heat. This synthesis report brings together the findings.

The working paper reviews a wide range of options that could be incorporated into a reformed national market and help the government make a well-informed decision on which market structure to take forward.