Blog

  • Filter by type

  • Filter by theme

Why the devolution revolution can unlock our net zero goals
Our Clean Energy Cities lead Stephen Lorimer shares why the UK’s latest Budget announcement could spell good news for local authorities and the energy transition with SmartCitiesWorld
DESNZ: surface or substance?
Delivering net zero will require a more radical reimagining of the role of the state and strong cross-departmental collaboration, argues CNZ CEO Lucy Yu
Clean Energy Cities in action: accelerating local energy transitions in Oxford and Birmingham
Centre for Net Zero recently kickstarted two proof-of-concept projects to accelerate local energy transitions in Oxford and Birmingham, following the launch of our ‘Clean Energy Cities’ (CEC) programme at the end of last year.
What role can ChatGPT play in net zero?
Lucy Yu explores the potential of Open AI's chatbot as a tool that can give bespoke information about the energy transition to its users, in her latest column for Utility Week.
Shocks that people can see and feel are the most powerful drivers of change
Consumers are more engaged with their energy use than ever before. Now is the time to leverage this change, argues CNZ CEO Lucy Yu in leading energy transition publication, Foresight
Future Energy Systems Heat Pumps Centre for Net Zero
Politicians must be bold to decarbonise heating
As ministers in Scotland consider taking a significant step towards decarbonising domestic heating, by banning new and replacement boilers from 2025, Lucy Yu features in The Times arguing in support of the ban.
Gas crisis: Short-term challenge, long-term opportunity
Lucy Yu joins Jan Rosenow from the Regulatory Assistance Programme and others at energy tech summit GridXdays to discuss the decarbonisation of heating in Europe
What is happening between now & 2030 to achieve net zero?
Experts Chris Greig, Lucy Yu and Jonathan Wood share net zero insights and discuss what we need to prioritise over the next few years to speed up the modernisation of America's energy system.
net zero insights
How do we ensure consumers are fairly rewarded for providing domestic flexibility?
Lucy Yu explores the rights of consumers in the future energy system in her latest column for Utility Week Innovate.
There’s no magic bullet to solve the UK’s energy crisis
Our headline letter in The Guardian responding to an article about solving the energy crisis from Christine Farnish, former Ofgem director.
net zero insights
Slough: the centre of the heat pump revolution
Our latest field trip took us to Slough, home to Octopus Energy's R&D heat pump centre. Find out what we learnt at the warehouse that’s shaping the future of heating.
net zero insights
en_tech_talks session 03: the readout
Looking for net zero insights? Find out how emerging datasets and cutting-edge tech can help us achieve energy flexibility at scale - and what the benefits look like for everyone.
Government Boiler Upgrade Scheme failing to drive interest in heat pumps
Findings from our agent-based model are reported following news of limited uptake of the Government's £450 million Boiler Upgrade Scheme.
net zero insights
Maximising energy resilience and fairness during extreme events
How can we maximise resilience during challenging times for the energy system, when it's under strain from extreme weather scenarios or geopolitics circumstances?
net zero insights
Programme launch: Clean Energy Cities
Centre for Net Zero travelled to Paris to share early results from 'Clean Energy Cities' with mayors from around the world at ChangeNOW, the largest global gathering of clean energy innovators and start-ups.
en_tech_talks session 02: the readout
Missed the second edition of en_tech_talks? Interested in the decarbonisation of buildings? Check out our write-up of keynote speeches from the founders of Grid Edge and measurable.energy
Centre for Net Zero: Government must act to accelerate heat pump roll out
New research from CNZ details how current pace of heat pump deployment puts 2050 decarbonisation target in peril, as reported by leading energy trade publication Business Green.
Early announcement of gas boiler ban needed alongside Boiler Upgrade Scheme to hit government targets
Key findings from our agent-based modelling report 'Hitting the Target' are reported by leading energy trade publication, Current.
en_tech_talks session 01: the readout
Missed the first en_tech_talk? Check out what we learnt from our keynote speakers & machine learning experts Jack Kelly & Dr Ramit Debnath.
Discovering vertical power: how tech & smart energy can build a better future for farming
It's not every day that you get a unique glimpse of the future. Check out what we learnt on our visit to Zero Carbon Farms - the world’s first underground vertical farm.
Customer data innovation to achieve a faster and fairer energy transition
Lucy Yu discusses what lessons utility firms can heed from consumer-facing sectors such as finance, transport and retail in creating a richer energy data landscape.
Open data and device automation in time of use tariff innovation
Lucy Yu mulls over key questions around the tech, transparency and level of device automation necessary to enable innovation and ‘hyper-personalisation’ in greener energy consumption.
Crypto, NFTs and the Metaverse: emerging tech that could shape the energy transition
Lucy Yu debates how new and evolving technology, from cryptocurrency and non-fungible tokens to the Metaverse, could shape the future of energy.
Moving the goalposts: football stadiums as flexible energy assets?
Arsenal may not be top of the Premier League (yet), but they’re an established league leader when it comes to sustainability. Find out what we learnt on our field trip to the Emirates.
net zero insights
Collaboration, agitation and inspiration: observations from COP26
Didn't manage to make it COP26? Lucy Yu provides a snapshot of her insights into the people, projects and plans she encountered that left a lasting impression.
How will the UK’s ‘heat and buildings strategy’ help achieve net-zero?
CNZ heat pump analysis is reported by Carbon Brief in their commentary of the Heat and Buildings Strategy, which sets out the UK government's plan to significantly cut carbon emissions from 30 million homes.
Fewer than 100,000 households will benefit from the UK government’s heat pump subsidy
Research by CNZ shows that up to 560,000 British households would switch to heat pumps during the Boiler Upgrade Scheme timeframe if the subsidy allocation was increased.
Politics latest news: No 10 publishes net zero strategy
Analysis by CNZ concludes that the launched heat pump grant scheme, which is available to 90,000 households in total, will leave significant unmet demand across the UK.
net zero insights
Building on the new normal: behavioural change on road to net zero
The pandemic revealed a scale and pace of behavioural change that many of us would never have believed possible. It must act as a springboard to be more ambitious about net zero.

Podcast

net zero insights
net zero insights

Inside the Energy Transition

What are the most common misconceptions that we currently hear about the energy transition? Is the future brighter than we might think?

Over six episodes, our hosts speak to leading experts and innovators to understand how we can transition to an energy system that works harder for people and the planet.

Created in partnership with Tortoise Media.