Energised
Futures
What will the future of energy look like? How will it work? And what potential does it have?
We set up Energised Futures to answer all these questions and more through research and innovation. It’s just part of how were delivering on our purpose to energise a greener, fairer future for all.
Our Purpose
Energised Futures works with industry leads and academia to play a pivotal role in defining the future of energy, based on six core research pillars.
Flexibility
How will smart energy tech, and the way people use it to create and consume energy, change supply and demand?
Automation
What’s the best way to control devices, and how can it be done at scale?
Engagement
What do people think of new energy, and how will they engage with it?
Markets
How will energy be valued, settled, balanced, and regulated?
Connectivity
How can we reliably connect properties and devices?
Accessibility
How can make sure that the future of energy is inclusive and everyone can be part of it?
Projects
Energised Futures focuses on the flexible energy system and works on UK and EU projects to build tools and technical capabilities for it.
Behaviouralists
Energised Futures worked with The Behaviouralist consultancy to understand how time-of-use energy tariffs could be used to nudge customers to use cheaper and greener energy. As well as tracking consumption and cost on such tariffs, the trial measured how much people trust and engage with them too.
BD4NRG
Big Data for Next Generation Energy (BD4NRG) brings together 35 sector leaders to tackle data management challenges, focusing on energy forecasting and delivery flexibility. Energised Futures’ first project in partnership with BD4NRG was recently included in the European Commission’s Innovation Radar, which identifies high potential ideas in EU-funded research.
IREF
Funded by the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, the Interoperable Residential Energy Flexibility project is part of Interoperable Demand Side Response Programme and aims to improve how existing demand-side response solutions work with each other, based on standards put forward by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy.
Find out more
LocalRes
A global project aiming to put renewable energy in the hands of people and communities, LocalRes focuses on renewable energy communities to raise awareness and increase involvement, with the goal of leading the structural change needed to move us towards decarbonising local energy systems.
Meet the Team
The advisory Board
The expertise of Energised Futures is drawn from across Centrica brands. These include British Gas, the UK’s biggest energy provider, and Hive, the experts in smart home technology. It also has a community of external academic and industry partners and fosters a collaborative culture to unlock solutions to the challenges facing the retail energy sector. The direction is shaped by the Advisory Board, which steers core research objectives and reviews its outputs .
Pat Symonds
Pat Symonds is a British Motor racing engineer. Having previously worked for Benetton, Renault, and Williams, his most recent role is as Chief Technical Officer for Formula One. Pat will shortly join the Andretti Cadillac F1 programme as Executive Engineering Consultant.
Professor Peter Childs
Peter Childs FREng is the Professorial Lead in Engineering Design and was the founding Head of the Dyson School of Design Engineering at Imperial College London.
Catherine O'Kelly
Catherine is the Managing Director of British Gas, having previously held the same role at Bord Gais Energy in Ireland.
Dan Rosenfield
Previously the Chief of Staff at Downing Street, and head of strategy at Centrica. Currently Managing Director of New Business & Net Zero within Centrica
Ulrika Wising
Ulrika is the Managing Director of Centrica Power having recently joined the company from Vallourec. Prior to that she was Global VP of Customer Solutions at Shell and Head of Solar and Battery storage for Macquarie.
Darren Miles
Previously VP Global Infrastructure and Operations (Centrica), currently Chief Information Officer at Centrica
Cengiz Ucbenli, Ph.D.
Cengiz is the Chief Data Analytics Officer at Centrica, joining from Vodafone where he was Head of Big Data and AI
Alan McLaughlin
Alan brings over two decades of energy experience in his role as Corporate Affairs Director of Centrica
Join the community
At the heart of Energised Futures is the belief that collaboration is the way forward in research and innovation.
It’s looking for new ways of encouraging researchers to work together in finding innovative solutions and helping to streamline how we shape the future of energy. Interested in collaborating? Get in touch at: energisedfutures@centrica.com