Innovation
Innovation is at the heart of our business. Our innovation work focuses on increasing the efficiency of our maintenance and operational activities today, while enabling our transition to net zero for the future.
Why innovation matters
Innovation is a key stakeholder priority for National Gas, supporting our business to deliver gas reliably, safely and efficiently to our customers today. At the same time, the future of our network depends on transitioning to a low-carbon alternative to natural gas, to continue providing energy for power generation, industrial processes, storage and transport. That’s why innovation activities that focus on achieving net zero are at the core of our work.
Our innovation process
1. Innovation Strategy
“We build the roadmaps and the overview of how innovation projects help us meet National Gas’s strategic vision: not only through Ofgem funding mechanisms but alternative funding routes too. We lead on the attainment of SIF funding and identify innovative opportunities.”
David Hardman,
Strategy Manager
2. Innovation Delivery
“We are focused on delivering projects to enable the energy transition with a focus on assets, materials, automation and measurement. We are determining the impact on the assets’ integrity and developing novel approaches.”
Katie Petherbridge,
Innovation Delivery Manager
3. Innovation Demonstration
“We demonstrate the network capability to meet our energy transition ambitions at the DNV Spadeadam FutureGrid facility. Phase 1 is demonstrating hydrogen from entry to exit point on the NTS and Phase 2 will demonstrate compression and deblending – both critical to any future hydrogen network.”
Tom Neal,
FutureGrid Programme Manager
4. Innovation Implementation
“We support the implementation of innovation projects whilst developing projects to support network improvement and efficiency across the business units. Our team support the delivery of our business value levers.”
Helen Dugdale,
Innovation Implementation Manager
Our innovation priorities
We have identified five innovation technology portfolios to guide our efforts, each with its own technology roadmap and project pipeline:
- Asset development for risk mitigation: developing hydrogen-ready resilient assets with optimised maintenance systems for future gases to support net zero.
- Automation and measurement: developing the inspection and monitoring systems required for the future. This includes all sensing systems within the gas transmission network, as well as assessment methodologies such as the use of pipeline inspection gauges and robotic assessments.
- Materials and processing: ensuring we have robust materials and processes to extend the lifetime of our assets, and enable repurposing of the network for hydrogen. This includes developing novel techniques to maintain our National Transmission System (NTS) assets.
- Digital systems and simulation: providing accessible, accurate data models of the UK energy network to improve efficiency. This links with automation and measurement to develop solutions where devices can communicate with each other to provide valuable insights for our gas transmission teams.
- Business development: ensuring business systems and processes are relevant for a net zero future. This involves building an understanding of how operating the NTS may evolve with market changes through the energy transition.
Innovation objectives:
- Deliver value to UK energy customers.
- Collaborate to ensure optimised innovation outputs.
- Deliver the evidence to enable the energy transition.
- Drive innovations to improve our current and future network.
- Support our innovation culture through a clear vision of the future.
- Provide insight to our stakeholders through optimised communications.
Innovation insights
Innovation project hub
Explore our latest innovation projects and meet the people who make them happen.
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Value delivered
Understand the impacts and benefits delivered by the innovation solutions we have implemented.
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Innovate with us
Find out how we collaborate on gas network innovation projects, and how you can get involved.
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