Energy Systems Integration Partnership Programme (ESIPP)

Project Description

Energy Systems Integration (ESI), a multidisciplinary area ranging from science, engineering and technology to policy, economics, regulation and human behaviour is coming to the fore in the planning, design and operation of the global energy system. ESI seeks to optimize the energy system and other large scale infrastructures, in particular water, by leveraging the synergies across all scales and pathways (i.e. electricity, fuels, heat). To build research capacity in this new and emerging area, we have brought together industry and a multidisciplinary research team in all the main engineering disciplines (electrical, mechanical, civil and chemical) with economics, business, mathematics, environmental psychology, and earth science. The research challenges validated by industry partners include: optimising the integration of waste water treatment plant into the electricity system; quantifying the impact of climate on future energy consumption in an integrated energy system; managing increasing variability and uncertainty in the integrated energy system; managing the financial, regulatory, market risks in energy infrastructure investments; controlling a more distributed energy system with a more active consumer; developing solutions to optimally use the thermal energy stored in the energy system; and evidence to support robust policy decisions. These research challenges will require a deeper understanding of the interactions within an integrated energy system, its dynamics and long term evolution including the potential impact of increasing electrification, the role of natural gas and water.