Flexibility could reduce system costs by £70bn

Deployment of renewables and nuclear supported by flexibility could reduce energy system costs by at least £70 billion to 2050, according to a new report.

The Energy Systems Catapult said there was a major opportunity for innovators to develop the flexibility technologies needed to smooth out peaks in power and heat demand.

Technologies with the potential to provide such flexibility at scale include electric vehicles, heat stores and static batteries and hydrogen storage.

Guy Newey, CEO of Energy Systems Catapult, said: “Embracing flexibility could help the UK save billions in infrastructure costs – while giving homegrown innovators a platform to scale up and compete globally.”

The report also found that electricity consumption could increase by as much as 80% by 2040 through the growing electrification of transport and heat. Data centres could require an additional 28 TWh in 2040, representing 5% of overall demand.