DigitalSolutionsfortheEnergySectorADigitalCatapultwhitepaperMay2024Thedevelopmentofthiswhitepaperwaspart-fundedbytheHydrogenInnovationInitiative.22PreviouspageNextpageContentspageStartofsectionDocumentUserGuideContentsIntroduction34UKdigitalsectorandkeytechnologies8Enablingnetzeroinfrastructure21Maximisingflexibilityintheenergysystem25Futurechallenges3IntroductionTheenergyindustryisexperiencingasignificanttransitiontowardsdecentralisation,decarbonisation,anddigitisation.Thistransitionwillprovidenewopportunitiesandchallengesforinvestmentandgrowthforbothdomesticandinternationalplayers.Energystakeholdershaverecognisedthataccesstolive,usabledatahasbecomeessentialtomanagingenergysystemstodayandinthefuture,andthatdigitaltechnologiesareacrucialtoolinthejourneytonetzero.Inthe2023updatetoTrackingCleanEnergyProgress(TCEP),theInternationalEnergyAgency(IEA)reportsthatworldwidegrid-relatedinvestmentindigitaltechnologieshasgrownbyover50%since2015,withtotalgridinvestmentexpectedtohavegrownby19%in2023.Duringthisperiod,investmentindigital-relatedgridefficiencycontinuedtogrow,reachinganewhighofUS$63billiongloballyin2022.TheIEAalsoestimatesthatoverallinvestmentinelectricitygrids‘needstoaveragearoundUS$600billionannuallythroughto2030togetontheNZEScenariotrajectory.Thisisalmostdoublethecurrentinvestmentlevels,ataroundUS$300billionperyear’.ThisreportlooksatchallengessharedacrosstheUKenergysector,aswellasdigitalinterventionsthatwillenabletheUKenergyecosystemtodeliverlowcarbonenergyfasterandmorereliably.Wealsolookattheimpactthatthegrowthofdigitaltechnologiesandinfrastructureishavingontheenergysector,andhowresponsibletechnologyleadershipisrequiredtoenableagreendigitaltransition.UKdigitalsectorandkeytechnologiesAdvanceddigitaltechnologies6Thegreendigitaltransition714UKdigitalsectorandkeytechnologies5UKdigitalsectorandkeytechnologiesTheUKranksfirstinEuropeandthirdintheworldforthedevelopmentanduptakeofadvanceddigitaltechnologies.DigitalCatapultFutureIndex,2022ThepastfewyearshaveseenunprecedentedandsignificantchangeacrossUKsocietyandoureconomy.Thepandemic,leavingtheEuropeanUnion,andtherecognitionof(andresponsesto)theclimateemergencyhaveallplayedamajorpartinthesechanges.Wehaveseenanaccelerationinthepaceatwhichbusinessesareembracingdigitalisation,inordertocopewithchallengesandopportunitiesarisingfromremoteworking;health,safetyandsocialdistancing;changingconsumerhabits;andshockstosupplychains.UKdigitalsectorandkeytechnologies6AdvanceddigitaltechnologiesAtDigitalCatapultweseeadvanceddigitaltechnologiesasthefundamentalbuildingblocksforthefuture,essentialtorealisingeconomicgrowthandbuildingcompetitivenessacrosstheUK.Suchtechnologiesincludeartificialintelligence,extendedrealitytechnologies(suchasvirtual,mixed,augmentedrealityandhaptics,knowncollectivelyasXR)andspatialcomputing;distributedledgertechnologies(DLT),andrelatedprivacy-preservingandsecuredatasharingtechnologies;5G/6Gandfuturenetworks,theinternetofthings(IoT),cyberphysicalsystems(CPS)andquantumcomputing.In2021/22DigitalCatapult’sDigitalFutureIndexidentifiedkeyandemergingtrendsinadvanceddigitaltechnologies,andhighlightedthestrengthsandchallengesfacingtheUKintheiradoptionandinnovation.OurresearchfoundthattheUKisrankedthirdintheworld(behindonlytheUSandChina)andfirstinEuropeforthedevelopmentanduptakeofadvanceddigitaltechnologies.Thisrankingwasbase...
