Habitat Energy wins share of biggest ever Innovate UK awards for 60MW Energy Superhub in Oxford

The £41m world-first Energy Superhub will be built in Oxford, making it a model for cities around the world to cut carbon and improve air quality, the consortium announced today. A multi-million award from the UK’s innovation agency, UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), will accelerate delivery timescales of the project that will use innovative new battery technology and aims to decarbonise both heat and transport.

The Energy Superhub Oxford project involves the deployment of grid-scale energy storage and supports the decarbonisation of mobility, power and heat across the city, supporting Oxford City Council in its journey to zero carbon.

Habitat Energy will be providing the intelligence to optimise the trading of the battery storage in the power markets, as well as the timing of the EV charging and heat pump activation to maximise value to the end consumer and benefit to the grid.

https://news.sky.com/story/giant-batteries-to-be-built-in-oxford-after-the-city-wins-20m-in-green-funding-11682768

Andrew Luers, Cofounder and CEO of Habitat Energy “At Habitat Energy our aim is to enable a flexible, renewables-powered energy grid and transportation network. Battery storage, EV charging and heat pumps are some of the essential elements of this network. With the Energy Superhub Oxford project we’re excited to demonstrate with our partners how our innovative platform coupled with these assets can accelerate the transition to a renewables-powered world while providing investable returns that allow this approach to scale across the UK and beyond.”

Councillor Tom Hayes, Executive Board Member for a Safer and Greener Environment “The City Council is working towards a Zero Carbon Oxford to tackle dangerous climate change in the time available to us to save the planet. Uniquely, this £41m once-in-a-generation downpayment on Oxford will move the Council closer to achieving this vision. Leading businesses are investing in Oxford because they recognise that we’re already trialling new technologies exactly like Energy Superhub Oxford. Today’s announcement allows us as a city to embrace our technological future. This exciting project will enable the City Council to install more electric vehicle charging points of the kind that charge vehicles quickest. It gives Black Cab drivers additional support to shift from 100% diesel today to 100% electric in the next few years. It enables the council to move our own vehicles to electric on a faster timescale and, crucially, to install heat energy across homes to tackle fuel poverty.”

Energy and Clean Growth Minister, Claire Perry “Oxford is set for a smart energy overhaul, with these projects aiming to meet the city’s energy needs through greener, low carbon technologies. Backed by government funding, this has the potential to completely change the way people go about their daily lives – from going to work on an electric bus to using the heat rising from the earth to heat your home without gas. These projects are an example of our modern Industrial Strategy in action, helping companies and consumers seize the opportunity of the global shift to a cleaner, greener, more flexible energy system.”

Dr Andrew Luers