The Unleashing Energy Prize

What is the Unleashing Energy Prize?

We want to accelerate our transition to net zero by overcoming key barriers in the energy sector: a lack of grid capacity and the inflexibility of renewable sources.

The Problem

The UK government’s net zero strategy dictates that we will fully decarbonise our power system by 2035. As we hurtle towards this deadline, several key steps need to be realised:

• a significant shift from fossil fuels to renewable energy sources;
• electrification of further sectors, such as heat and transport;
• upgrades to the grid, so that it can accommodate additional renewable sources and increased overall load.

And things are looking up.

2020 marked the first year in the UK’s history that electricity came predominantly from renewable energy, with 43% of our power coming from a mix of wind, solar, bioenergy and hydroelectric sources. Since then, there has been a dramatic fall in costs of solar and wind energy farms, whilst the price of natural gas has shot up.

But despite these leaps in the renewable energy sector, there are still two clear, interconnected problems that stand in the way of transitioning our energy system to net zero.

1. A lack of investment in grid infrastructure means that renewable energy developers are facing delays of up to fifteen years to connect new capacity to the grid.

1. Renewables will always be an unpredictable and inflexible source of energy. We can’t control when the wind blows or when the sun shines; so renewable sources will often provide more energy when we don’t need it, and not enough when we do.

A startling outcome of these problems is that last year Ofgem spent £215 million turning wind farms off across the UK.

For now, this is largely put down to grid infrastructure issues. For example, surplus energy from wind farms up on the Orkney Islands cannot be delivered to consumers on the mainland.

But, going forward, even in a scenario of abundant renewable energy, where we build more electricity supply than we need, the nature of renewable sources means that supply will still peak at times that don’t suit us, and green energy will go to waste.

Challenge Works’ £100,000 Dynamic Demand Challenge Prize was designed to stimulate new products, technologies or services using data to achieve reduced carbon emissions by shifting energy demand to off peak times. We think another challenge prize could work to address the problems outlined above, and urgently accelerate the pace of the energy transition.

What could The Unleashing Energy Prize look like?

There are a few possible directions that a challenge prize could go in to shine a spotlight on the problem, encourage fresh-thinking and innovation.

• A prize that would challenge innovators to decarbonise energy on an industrial site without adding new grid connections. Industrial heat makes up 25% of global energy consumption. Side-stepping the grid could fast-forward the decarbonisation of this sector by untethering its progress from the grid reinforcement process. For example: could some combination of autonomous renewable energy generation, thermal & electrical storage technology and heat pumps work to achieve this goal?

What might this look like? 10-15 applicants are challenged to design a system for 1 of 10 partner industrial sites. After demonstrating proof of concept over the first stage (6 months), 3 participating teams will go through to a 12 month pilot stage with a partner industrial site. The final prize would be awarded to the team that can prove 50% decarbonisation for the least cost per kg of CO2. Additionally, advanced market contracts are agreed with the partner industrial sites to operate the decarbonised energy system if the technology can reach an agreed cost.

• A prize that would challenge innovators to make use of intermittent supply when renewable generation outperforms demand. Plenty of industries have been borne out of the waste materials of others. This challenge would encourage participants to come up with solutions that harness intermittent supply. This could encourage investors to support building renewable sources beyond the point of demand, without seeing a fall in returns. Possible solutions include: using intermittent renewable supply to power energy-intensive processes such as certain types of recycling or the creation of green hydrogen; capturing intermittent supply at a household level, such as by integrating storage into domestic appliances; designing a facility, such as a factory or vertical farm, that operates solely on intermittent supply.

Why a challenge prize?

Shines a spotlight on new technologies

One of the challenges in the energy transition is ensuring momentum and uptake of key enabling technologies. The high profile and public nature of challenge prizes offers an opportunity to raise awareness and for funders to signal their intent to key stakeholders and the wider public.

Accelerates progress towards an ambitious, specific goal

Challenge prizes have already been used to develop new technologies to reinvent the grid, in the UK and Canada.

Much of the foundational technologies that could enable us to overcome delays in grid reinforcements and inflexible renewable energy supply already exist, but an open innovation competition would intervene to sharpen innovators’ focus. Using this model also means we can encompass key socio-economic goals, such as achieving affordable solutions and tackling fuel poverty; or key sustainability metrics, such as developing batteries that do not rely on rare earth minerals.

Brings in a range of teams and approaches to work on it

Challenge prizes are suited to problems that would benefit from more than one approach. Solutions to The Unleashing Energy Prize could encompass anything from: thermal storage; to energy intensive processes such as producing green hydrogen and green fertilisers, industrial heat or certain recycling processes; to built-in storage in domestic appliances. Innovators could design anything from a vertical farm, to a kettle, to a recycling plant. A challenge prize model supports new innovators, new collaborations and out-of-the-box thinking.

This prize idea is designed to be a conversation starter, so tell us what you think!

The best prize ideas are developed through extensive research and engagement with experts, stakeholders and people with lived experience of the problems they are focused on. We start with a first draft like the one above – then work to improve, refine and validate our thinking.

We’re particularly keen to have conversations about this idea with potential funders and organisations working in the field. Get in touch if you’re interested – or if you think you have a better idea – and we’ll schedule a call.

Read more about this prize idea in this blog