Applying a flexibility capital framework to drive an inclusive energy transition

"Flexibility capital" refers to the capacity of different social groups to provide flexibility to energy systems, and thereby benefit from the energy transition. This PhD is a unique opportunity to develop a flexibility capital framework and influence academic and policy debates on flexibility and a just transition.
Decarbonising the UK's energy system requires an increase in renewable electricity, in particular to meet demand for electric heating and transport. To accommodate this, electricity use will have to become more flexible and adapt to variability in supply and grid constraints. For example, smart electric vehicle (EV) charging could be used to avoid lots of EVs in the same area charging at the same time, or to make use of cheap wind power. Or electric heat pumps could be set to turn down when prices on a time of use electricity tariff are high, saving on running costs and reducing strain on the grid.
Some people, households, companies, or communities are better placed to provide (and benefit from) flexibility than others. This could be for a range of reasons, like access to certain technologies, or having job or family circumstances that allow activities to be completed flexibly. "Flexibility capital" (Powells and Fell, 2019) offers a framework to analyse both the technical potential and the societal factors that underpin the realisation of a more flexible electricity system.
Policymakers and industry want to understand the potential of different technological configurations, market offers, and how flexibility can be reliably unlocked. Advances in digitisation and automation offer the promise of maximising flexibility with minimal inconvenience. There is also widespread recognition that the net zero transition should be as equitable as possible, both for reasons of fairness and to avoid undermining public support. This means that new flexibility solutions will need to be engineered with a broad range of participants and situations in mind. The flexibility capital concept, and its implications for a just transition, has already gained traction in research and regulation. This PhD provides an opportunity to develop further the framework and work with stakeholders to apply the framework and deliver real-word impact.
The aim of this PhD project is to develop the flexibility capital framework and provide practical tools for planning and analysing the growth of demand-side flexibility.
The project will analyse:
- what makes up flexibility capital (e.g. technical, social, and economic resources, geographic location, grid connection / capacity), and how it can be described and/or quantified
- how flexibility capital is distributed throughout the UK spatially and demographically (factoring in characteristics such as ethnicity, gender, disability, and age)
- what combinations of technologies and flexibility solutions are expected to emerge as the UK continues to decarbonise, and how these affect participation and deliver different types of value for actors at different points in the energy system
- how the potential to provide flexibility can be operationalised to the benefit of a wide range of participants, as well as the energy system.

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.