Businesses and researchers are invited to help slash peak demand electricity in the UK using AI and digital technologies.
An initial £4 million is being offered for the first year of a five-year challenge to support researchers to come up with solutions that help shift power demand in the evenings and weekends by 2GW by 2030 – equivalent to powering more than 1.5 million homes.
The Clean Energy: 2GW Peak Time Flexibility challenge will help reduce bills, boosting energy security and cutting reliance on gas-fired power.
As demand for energy spikes – like in the early evening when people return home – the grid often turns to gas-fired power stations, which are more expensive and more polluting, while leaving the UK exposed to volatile global gas markets.
Potential innovations could include using AI to predict demand from smart meter and weather data, automatically heating or cooling buildings when clean energy is available and using parked electric vehicles as grid-connected batteries.
Science Minister Lord Vallance said: “We’re calling on Britain’s brightest minds and innovative businesses to help us cut energy bills, boost energy security and reduce our reliance on fossil fuels.
“This is a challenge with real impact – if we get it right, we’ll save families money, protect the planet, and make the UK a clean energy superpower.
“R&D has the power to change lives and we want to harness it to deliver real, measurable progress towards the government’s 5 missions and turn bold ideas into real solutions by 2030.”
The challenge will be led by UK Research and Innovation with the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, with the funding awarded to consortiums, including the Energy Systems and Digital Catapults.
Watt’s the plan? £4m on offer to slash peak power demand using AI appeared first on Energy Live News.