Delta-EE tracks the progress in the transition from old to new energy in its annual State of the Market Report. This study gathers evidence of the shift from selling energy as a commodity to selling new energy products and services. It covers a broad range of product areas, such as eMobility, New Heating, Storage or Smart Buildings – both in the C&I and residential segments.  

What progress has been done in 2020 in the transition from old to new energy? 

Electricity distribution networks will increasingly come under the spotlight as the energy transition gathers pace. 

Distribution networks are entering a brave new age. They have done their job excellently in Europe in the previous decades – distributing electricity from the transmission system to households and businesses in an increasingly efficient, cost-effective, reliable manner. 

It feels like we are starting 2021 with some cautious optimism - perhaps not as much as we would have liked, but I for one, am upbeat. Whilst Covid-19 continues in waves, there remains much to be positive about for us in the new energy sector.

Governments and companies have all taken steps or reported news of continued optimism, which against the wider macro and micro global news is very welcome. Commercially we have seen:

This blog was written by Abhishek Sampat, Principal Analyst

We recently spoke to Ole Henrik Hannisdahl (CEO of Mer Norway) on our Talking New Energy Podcast about the key aspects to keep in mind to build a profitable charging network. As Norway has been the early adopter, then market testing playground for EVs, the world has been watching to see what works, and what doesn’t.

Transactive energy is, according to the Gridwise Architecture Council:

“A system of economic and control mechanisms that allows the dynamic balance of supply and demand across the entire electrical infrastructure using value as a key operational parameter”

With Governments and policy makers across Europe ramping up ambitions for Net Zero and accelerating their plans to get there, this is and will increasingly lead to more deployment of renewable electricity generation, electrification of heat and transport, and increased energy efficiency.  It is also very clear that natural gas will be playing a smaller role in the future energy system than it does today.

But what does this mean for the role of gas network operators in the future energy system?  Across the research we do at Delta-EE helping gas and electricity network operators, we see a number of significant roles that gas network operators in particular could play, including:

The energy transition will change the way customers use and interact with energy – opportunities to play a more active and important role will arise with the emergence of new products and services. As the electrification of heat and transport gathers pace, customers will also be increasingly reliant on electricity to meet their energy needs. What does this mean for vulnerable customers and what role can DSOs play to support them, so no one is left out?

To answer this, we firstly need to understand who the vulnerable customer of the future might be. As the energy transition evolves, customer vulnerability will also change. New types of vulnerability may emerge relating to:

Think about heat pumps and it might be electrically driven heat pumps that you think of first. Heat pumps can, however, be driven by heat itself rather than an electrical compressor. That’s where thermally driven heat pumps (TDHPs) come in.

And while boilers are efficient, thermally driven heat pumps are a step above, capturing the low-grade heat from the surrounding air and combining this with the efficient combustion of gaseous fuels. So, what part do thermally driven heat pumps have to play in the future of the energy transition?

Climate change is climbing organisations’ agendas. Worldwide, around 2,000 cities so far have declared climate emergencies and are setting their own net zero and carbon neutrality goals. 73% of the urban population in the UK currently live in cities with net zero targets.^[1]

These goals are impressive, but they need to be backed up with clear strategy, plan and action.

In my previous blog I shared some of the Delta-EE Heat team’s key takeaways from ISH Digital, focussing on the decarbonisation agenda and product innovations. The next two themes we wanted to share are around how heating manufacturers are embracing digitalisation. While this is mainly being focussed around supporting installers – and rightly so - it’s important companies don’t overlook the other opportunities that digitalisation and connectivity can unlock.

Takeaway 3. Supporting installers in the heating transition is – rightly – a key priority for manufacturers.