Application of intelligent techniques for evaluation of new business models and pricing approaches in future energy markets

"The project aims to understand how new energy market designs and pricing approaches will impact the business models of market actors, primarily at the distribution level. The research will focus on the requirements of the DNO to DSO transition, including customers and Distributed Energy Resources (DER) in the provision of flexibility services at both distribution and transmission levels, requiring consideration of TSO-DSO coordination schemes.

"The project will look for two overall outcomes: i) to help DERs develop business models under various pricing schemes and TSO-DSO coordination schemes, and (ii) to help DSOs and TSOs evaluate DER behaviour and better understand how to entice them into providing flexibility services at both distribution and transmission levels."

This Centre will train students in the blend of traditional and emerging power network concepts and advances in information and communication technologies, consumer and demand side technologies, and integrated energy systems required to deliver future power networks. This targets the skills challenge in the electrical power networks industry, and the lack of high quality graduates able to deliver the smart grid. The training will deliver doctoral level engineers that are prepared for key technical tasks within the power networks and utility industry, and this is a positive impact for society.

A number of industrial partners have agreed to provide placements in which projects are undertaken with the company and on their premises. This will provide an immediate industrial impact where research concepts, systems and approaches can be delivered as knowledge exchange impact, leading to enhanced performance of the UK power networks industry. Direct engagement with the industrial partners, and their funding of the research programme and strong engagement, will lead to new intellectual property that can be capitalised upon by UK manufacturers (new products), consultancies and service providers (new offerings, analyses, services) and network operators (increased efficiencies and reduced capital and operational expenditure). Overall, this will lead to the impact of reduced energy costs for the UK consumer.

Academic impact will be achieved through the internationally leading and novel research activities planned for the Centre. Extensive links and engagement with leading international academics are being put in place to underpin this.

Society will benefit directly by the CDT helping to elevate the standing of the engineering profession and producing more engineers aware of the implications of their technical work for policy and their wider responsibilities to the public, with a particular emphasis on energy. The CDT's impact on policy will be accentuated by the key roles played by our senior staff in government-industry steering groups such as ETI Strategic Advisory Groups, Ofgem Innovation Working Group, IET Power Networks Joint Vision Group, Scottish Grid and Economics Group, and the Scottish Smart Grid Sector Strategy Group to name a few. Our international links through CIGRE, CIRED, and the IEEE will ensure that our outcomes influence a global community.

Our CDT cohorts, alongside our early career research communities, are central to our ambitions to inspire a generation through impact and engagement. Strategic engagement initiatives, such as Strathclyde's Technology and Innovation Centre, are intended to transform the way in which universities work with industry and communicate effectively with all stakeholders, including the public. The CDT cohort will benefit from interactions within this environment, leading to further uptake of the research among stakeholders.