Local indicators and potential for Electrification of heat with a focus on multi-vector integration including hydrogen

872a380a-ebf2-4abc-8391-f2ca1af93454

Closed

EPSRC
EPSRC
EPSRC
EPSRC
EPSRC

No funds listed.

Sept. 30, 2020

Sept. 27, 2021

The proposed issue of this PhD is to look at these local, regional and national indicators and to define a methodology to provide recommendations on appropriate technologies or combinations of technologies to be deployed with a focus on the local context. The PhD student will work closely with the UCL team, using the 3D-Stock Model. This model currently provides a 3D representation of built forms, together with construction information, ages and thermal properties, and other energy related data for the whole of London; the intention is to extend it to cover the whole of the UK. This will ultimately support a highly granular model of the whole UK building stock, and provide a platform for managing and organising multiple strands of information including, inputs from stakeholders (including, but not limited to EDF), and output from whole energy systems models such as UKTM and ESTIMO.
A major outcome from the project will be a methodology to provide preliminary evaluations of candidate technologies (hybrid heat pumps, electric boilers, AS/GS heat pumps, H2 boilers and fuel cells, district heating, individual or hub heat storage...) to be deployed in any given area, for subsequent discussion with key stakeholders. This phase could include solutions testing, in the lab or in the field.
Studentship aims
As this is now widely understood, there will likely not be one unique solution to the decarbonisation of residential heat, but multiple routes depending on the interplay of constraints and opportunities at multiple levels from local to national context. A key problem will be to understand the potential for synergies between the electricity grid, a decarbonised gas grid, and heat networks, in the context of rapid evolution of individual technologies and costs. The project has the potential to make a significant impact on one of the most important strategic problems facing the UK.
The overall outcomes of the PhD will be:
1. Technology and system recommendations with focus on multi-vector solutions, for the decarbonisation of residential heat and taking account of recent work at UCL on energy system architecture
2. Overall potential impact of decarbonisation on energy system resilience in the UK,
3. Analysis of the UK-wide system from the perspective of compatibility of electrification with an incremental evolution of the gas system (from methane to H2).

Potential Impact:
The low carbon energy systems needed to achieve the Government's carbon 2050 reduction targets promise declining generation costs, but at the price of inflexibility and intermittency. The challenge is to contain costs and improve energy system security, by building in resilience. The opportunities include: more efficient energy conversion, networks and storage technologies; improved energy control and management systems; integration of energy performance into modern methods of construction; improved measurement, display and control systems; and new business models. This will bring pervasive economic benefits: the creation of new intellectual property and expertise; businesses with the ability to compete in the huge new markets for energy efficiency and resilience, both in the UK and overseas; healthier and more productive places to work and live; and a means to address social hardship and inequalities, such as fuel poverty, which affects the health and wellbeing of society's most vulnerable. Seizing these opportunities requires leaders with multi-disciplinary knowledge, skills and whole-system perspective to break down restrictive, sector-specific silos, and drive innovation. The ERBE CDT will train such leaders.

The short and medium term impacts of the ERBE CDT will arise during the training of these leaders and through their research outputs and collaborations. These will include, but are not be restricted to: new approaches to analysis; new insights derived from large datasets; new modelling methods and ways of using existing models; new experimental techniques; field and laboratory measurement techniques; improved socio-technical methods; new manufacturing methods, devices, primary data sets, and patents; and, together with our industrial stakeholders, the integration of research into the business innovation process.

The longer term impacts will be realised over the next 40 years as ERBE graduates take on influential roles in diverse organisations, including:
- national and local governmental organisations that are developing affordable and socially acceptable evidence-based energy policies;
- energy supply and services companies that are charged with delivering a clean reliable and economical system, through deployment of energy efficiency products and technologies within an evolving energy system architecture;
- technology companies that are developing new components for energy generation and storage, new heating, cooling and ventilation systems, and smart digital controls and communications technology;
- industries that are large consumers of fuel and power and need to reduce their energy demand and curb the emission of greenhouse gases and pollutants;
- consultancies that advise on the design of energy systems, non-domestic building design and urban masterplans;
- facilities managers, especially those in large organisations such as retail giants, the NHS, and education, that are charged with reducing energy demand and operating costs to meet legally binding and organisational targets;
- standards organisations responsible for regulating the energy and buildings sectors through the creation of design guides and regulatory tools;
- NGOs and charities responsible for promoting, enabling and effecting energy demand reduction schemes;
- health and social care providers, who need to assure thermal comfort and indoor air quality, especially as our population ages and we adopt more flexible healthcare models.

The realisation of these benefits requires people with specific skills and an understanding of the associated ethical, health & safety, regulatory, legal, and social diversity and inclusion issues. Most importantly, they must have the ability to look at problems from a new perspective, to conceive, and develop new ideas, be able to navigate the RD&D pathway, and have the ability to articulate their intentions and to convince others of their worth; the ERBE CDT will develop these capabilities.