UKRI Launches £3 Million Funding Competition for ULDES Technologies
Executive Summary Innovate UK, part of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), is allocating £3 million to the first phase of a funding competition which will support the development, scale-up and UK manufacture of electrochemical ULDES technologies The technologies must be capable of delivering cost-effective electrical power to the UK grid with a discharge availability of […]
Ofgem Looks to Free Up Grid Capacity With Data Centre ‘Commitment Fee’
Executive Summary Ofgem has launched a consultation around wider reforms to electricity demand connections – and is initially targeting speculative data centre projects Proposals include the introduction of a commitment fee – approximately 2.5% to 7.5% of average project costs – and greater queue management milestones “Together, these measures are designed to ensure scarce grid […]
Poll: Cheaper Public Charging Could Boost EV Demand by Almost 50%
Executive Summary A new nationally representative experimental poll from ChargeUK and YouGov has found the proportion of people likely to buy an EV jumps from 25% to 37% if public charging is cheaper than petrol This figure, in this hypothetical situation, is above the government’s 2026 target requirement for 33% of new care sales to […]
Electric Truck Rollout Threatened as Grid Capacity Goes Unused, Report Warns
Executive Summary TwentyForty, in its ’12 Pillars of Change: Power In’ report, notes fears around capacity as electric trucks begin to rollout – as the industry waits for connections that are, largely, being left idle According to its analysis, of half-hourly utilisation figures for every data centre across UK Power Networks’ distribution network, the median […]
GlobalData Forecasts Global BESS Capacity to Rise Sixfold by 2030
Executive Summary GlobalData says the global battery storage market will grow sixfold at a CAGR of 42% between 2025 and 2030, with China and US dominance driven by supportive regulation, massive utility-scale procurement and aggressive clean energy mandates The research firm noted the rise of battery projects being built with a four-hour duration, in California […]
The Electricity VAT Cut: An Initial Step Towards Further Heating Electrification?
Executive Summary Jan Rosenow, professor of energy and climate policy at Oxford University, has argued that, while by no means a clear sign, the proposed VAT cut on electricity could close the gap between gas and electricity on taxes and policy costs – which discourages people from electrifying their heating Cornwall Insight argued similar in […]
Allianz UK Expands BESS Underwriting Capability in Further Sign of Market Maturity
Executive Summary Allianz UK is expanding its underwriting capability for battery energy storage systems, designed for mid-market energy clients, in an announcement which can be seen as a sign of further growth in BESS Reforms to the Planning and Infrastructure Act which came into effect last week point to larger-scale, higher-value BESS projects getting off […]
Gridserve Touts Record First Half for EV Charging Rollout
Executive Summary Gridserve has claimed a record first half – and second quarter – to the year, adding 285 bays to its network across 24 new or expanded UK locations over the past six months The big launch was the electric forecourt at Markham Vale, featuring 39 ultra-rapid EV charging bays; the company said it […]
IET and NAPIT Stress Safety as UK Plug-In Solar Gets August Rollout Date
Executive Summary Plug-in solar panels will be legal to buy in the UK on 27 August after an amendment to the Plugs and Sockets legislation laid before parliament on 17 July Industry bodies have welcomed the proposals but stressed safety concerns, particularly given the age of properties in the UK NAPIT emphasised the requirement that […]
UK Councils Lose Four in Five Battery Storage Appeals, Says GapSense
Executive Summary More than four in five grid-scale BESS appeals in the UK are allowed, according to analysis from GapSense, with even more – perhaps surprisingly – in the Green Belt In many cases, appeals on Green Belt sites were allowed because inspectors saw them as grey belt, following a change to the National Planning […]
BEAMA Market Pulse Q126: Capacity Utilisation ‘Stubbornly Modest’ Amid Wider Uncertainty
Executive Summary The first quarter of 2026 has seen a significant drop in business optimism across heating and ventilation and building electrical systems according to BEAMA – but electricity networks infrastructure has seen a boost in optimism and sales Capacity utilisation remained ‘stubbornly modest’ among BEAMA membership, with overall utilisation continuing at 75% for the […]
Slower Growth in UK EV Charging Infrastructure as Next Phase of Development Begins
Executive Summary 5,119 new EV chargers were installed in the first half of 2026 according to data from Zapmap, meaning the total public charging network is at 121,171 chargers – a year-on-year increase of 10% Growth in ultra-rapid chargers – at 37% year-over-year growth – has come at the expense of rapid chargers, at the […]
NICEIC Launches Flexible Training Format for EVCP Qualification
Executive Summary NICEIC is launching a one-day remote training course for the Level 3 EVCP (electric vehicle charge point) qualification across July, August and September The goal is to provide greater convenience and flexibility to electrical contractors while retaining a tutor-led environment key to technical areas such as EV charge point installations The pace of […]
Eurelectric: Growing European Potential for LDES… and Where the UK Fits In
Executive Summary Innovative long duration energy storage (LDES) technologies are set to become an ‘increasingly viable flexibility option in several European markets’, according to a report from Eurelectric and AFRY ‘Wind-rich’ countries, such as the UK and Germany, could see storage technologies with durations exceeded 24 hours reaching commercial viability around 2040 The report analysed […]
The Future Electrical Engineer – and the Balance Between the Hands-On and the Theoretical
Executive Summary Hands-on experience improves conceptual understanding and mastery of core electrical engineering principles, such as circuit design and programming, according to a chapter in a 2024 academic publication UK universities’ electrical and electronic engineering courses, such as at Imperial and Southampton, offer a balance between the theory and practical – to give ‘room to […]
UK Government Launches Consultation for £190m Strategic Charging Infrastructure Scheme
Executive Summary The UK government has launched an official consultation on upgrading grid capacity at motorway service areas (MSAs), with £190 million potentially allocated for the scheme The Strategic Charging Infrastructure scheme will ‘support the development of a strong open access EV charging offer across the motorway network by removing electricity upgrade costs as a […]
FlexGen Launches International Operations and Touts European Projects – Including UK
Executive Summary FlexGen has announced it is building its presence in Europe to increase battery storage capability on local grids, supporting energy reliability and affordability Europe represents a ‘significant growth opportunity’ for FlexGen, according to managing director Mike Wallace In recent months, FlexGen announced the acquisition of Clean Energy Services (CES), as well as how […]
InstaVolt Acquires 200+ GeniePoint Locations to Boast More Than 1,000 EV Charger Sites
Executive Summary InstaVolt is to acquire 228 GeniePoint charging locations, taking its total number of locations in the UK to 1,200 and becoming the first network operator to pass 1,000 The ‘comprehensive’ upgrade programme will include enhanced grid connections, BESS installations, and deployment of BYD ultra-rapid charging technology The move ‘represents a major milestone for […]
Why Silicon Carbide for UPS Systems is No Longer an ‘Expensive Niche’
Executive Summary Silicon carbide (SiC) is replacing traditional silicon solutions for uninterruptible power supply (UPS) systems with benefits from thermal management, to power density, to reliability and longevity Socomec, a provider of low voltage power management solutions, recently announced its new range of three-phase UPS, designed for data centres and industrial and commercial buildings, were […]
ContourGlobal Enters UK Market With 2GWh BESS Acquisition
Executive Summary ContourGlobal has entered the UK market by acquiring Wallace, a 500 MW / 2,000 MWh grid-scale battery energy storage system (BESS) in Ayr, Scotland The site is ‘ideally positioned to support grid balancing and the integration of the region’s substantial surplus wind generation’, the company noted The acquisition of the site, one of […]
How AI is ‘Becoming Another Tool on the Belt’ for Electrical Sector
Executive Summary AI will not replace electricians – it will ‘help them work with smarter systems and open the door to even more opportunities in the future’, according to City & Guilds Key use cases for trades, according to a recent study, are diagnostics, admin, and design and innovation AI becoming more embedded in electrical […]
Ellis Touts Sustainability in Cable Management With 57% Scope 1 and 2 Emissions Reduction
Executive Summary Ellis Patents has declared a 57% reduction in scope 1 and scope 2 emissions across eight years in the company’s latest carbon footprint report The company has also issued an Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) for its polymer cable cleat range, to accompany its stainless steel equivalent Danny Macfarlane, managing director at Ellis, noted […]
Equinix, ESB and GeoPura Explore Hydrogen Power Solution in New Trial
Executive Summary Equinix, ESB and GeoPura are working together to deploy a hydrogen power unit for data centre critical backup systems, with two generators installed to support cooling systems within Equinix’s Dublin facility The hydrogen power units are scalable up to 50MW to support backup and prime power applications, and can respond in real time […]
SP Electricity North West Launches Tender With Record Low Voltage Network Opportunities
Executive Summary SP Electricity North West has announced its latest flexibility tender promising more opportunities on its low voltage network than ever before at a total capacity of 779MW 217 locations in Greater Manchester, Lancashire and Cumbria are part of the tender at a value of up to £14 million Iberdrola, the parent group of […]
World Economic Forum: Why ‘Everything-to-Grid’ Energy is Moving At Pace
Executive Summary The World Economic Forum has cited ‘everything-to-grid’ energy as one of its top 10 emerging technologies in its latest insight report The citation comes as the WEF, alongside Frontiers, sees multiple technologies evolving in step, from the battery to the hardware moving power between the battery and the grid One provider with a […]