Centrica Launches Energised Futures to Simplify and Affordable Energy for Consumers

Centrica Launches Energised Futures to Simplify and Affordable Energy for Consumers

(IN BRIEF) Centrica has introduced Energised Futures, a new start-up venture aimed at simplifying and reducing the cost of energy for consumers. The venture will combine research, innovation, and development expertise from various Centrica brands, including British Gas and Hive, to bring new energy solutions to market. Energised Futures will focus on enhancing customer control, improving grid security, and accelerating the decarbonisation of UK homes. Led by Dr. Ben Krikler and supported by an advisory board of industry leaders, the initiative will collaborate on key projects like the Interoperable Residential Energy Flexibility project and the BD4NRG consortium.

(PRESS RELEASE) WINDSOR, 22-Jun-2024 — /EuropaWire/ — Centrica has announced the establishment of Energised Futures, a new start-up venture aimed at making energy simpler and more affordable for consumers. This initiative will bring together experts in research, innovation, and development to drive the future of retail energy.

Energised Futures will focus on innovations that enhance customer control over energy, boost grid security, and accelerate the decarbonisation of UK homes. The venture will handle projects from technical proof of concepts to long-term implementations, aiming for a greener, fairer energy future.

The new venture will draw expertise from various Centrica brands, including British Gas and Hive, and will be led by Dr. Ben Krikler, Centrica’s Director of Research and Innovation. A multidisciplinary team of researchers, electrical engineers, AI and machine learning experts, social scientists, and economists will be assembled.

An advisory board of industry leaders and academics will support Energised Futures, featuring Pat Symonds, Executive Engineering Consultant for Andretti Cadillac, and Professor Peter Childs, Co-Director of the Energy Futures Lab.

Energised Futures has already started collaborating with the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero on the Interoperable Residential Energy Flexibility project, testing and providing feedback on a proposed standard for Demand Side Response in the UK. Additionally, the venture is part of the Big Data for Next Generation Energy (BD4NRG) consortium, addressing data management challenges in the energy sector, recognized by the European Commission’s Innovation Radar.

Dan Rosenfield, Managing Director at Centrica New Business & Net Zero, stated, “The energy landscape is rapidly evolving, and we are committed to helping our customers navigate this while making energy simple and affordable. Through this new venture, we will be investing in research and innovation that will help everyone on the road to net zero.”

Advisory board member Pat Symonds emphasized the collaborative nature of the initiative, saying, “The race to net zero is not something any one person or organization can achieve alone. Dedicated companies like Energised Futures will bring together the right people to help the UK decarbonize.”

Professor Peter Childs added, “The transition to an electrified and connected energy system presents a significant opportunity for responsible and sustainable action. I’m delighted to join the Energised Futures advisory board and contribute to these pioneering research initiatives.”

NOTES TO EDITORS

About Ben Krikler:

Benjamin Krikler is a physicist and technologist turned social entrepreneur. He completed his PhD at Imperial College London, working on the COMET experiment in Japan, and later conducted postdoctoral research at CERN with the University of Bristol, where he focused on searching for dark matter through the LHC’s CMS experiment and the LZ experiment in the US. While at CERN, he organized THE Port humanitarian hackathon, leveraging the CERN community to foster innovation amongst Geneva-based NGOs. Krikler then spent 3 years as co-founder and CEO of RemotelyGreen, a platform to make online events a truly sociable alternative to travel. In late 2022, he joined Centrica as lead data scientist in the DSR team, leading the team’s research activities from August 2023. Ben is a fellow of the UK’s Software Sustainability Institute.

About Pat Symonds: 

Pat Symonds FIMechE, FRAeS is a chartered engineer with a long and varied career in F1 working in senior technical roles for Benetton, Renault and Williams leading teams that won seven world championships.  For the last seven years he has been Chief Technical Officer for F1 shaping the regulations for both 2022 and 2026, the later with a strong emphasis on sustainability. Pat will shortly join the Andretti Cadillac F1 programme as Executive Engineering Consultant.

About 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. Prior to his current post at Imperial, he was director of the Rolls-Royce supported University Technology Centre for Aero-Thermal Systems, director of InQbate and professor at the University of Sussex. He is the Editor of the Journal of Power and Energy, Professor of Excellence at MD-H, Berlin, Advisor Professor at Guangdong University of Technology, the Advisory Chair for the Leonardo Centre on Business for Society, and Director and Chairperson at BladeBUG Ltd and Founder Director at QBot Ltd.

Media Contact:

Tel: 01784 843000
Email: media@centrica.com

SOURCE: Centrica plc