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NETWORK / 16 / JULY/AUGUST 2018 T he £20m EPSRC National Centre for Energy Systems Integration (CESI) is a collaborative and multi-disciplinary consortium of industrial and academic energy experts work - ing on an innovative collabora- tive five-year research program. The Centre aims to investigate the challenges of the future en- ergy system within the UK while identifying the value in taking a whole energy systems approach. CESI draws on the expertise of leading academics from the uni- versities of Newcastle, Heriot- Watt, Sussex, Edinburgh and Durham. The Centre is actively steered by both an industrial ENERGY SYSTEMS innovation and an international advisory board comprised of representatives of local and na- tional government, international researchers, industrial partners and consumer stakeholders. About the UKRI RIIR In 2017, the UK government brought together the seven research councils, Innovate UK and Research England under the umbrella of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI). UKRI's remit is to provide the independent, strong voice for research and innovation, both to govern- ment and internationally. They are principally funded through the Science Budget by the UK Government's Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS). To aid in the Government's ambition of 2.4 per cent UK GDP investment in research and development by 2027, UKRI are developing a research and innovation infrastructure road - map of the range and breadth of research and innovation facili- ties that will be required in the UK by 2030. This will provide a detailed breakdown of the UK's current research capability and aid in planning for the future. The roadmap is a strategic plan that aims to create the vi- sion for research and innovation infrastructures and discuss the major steps needed to achieve it. The overall program of the Delivering an energy roadmap In this article the EPSRC's National Centre for Energy Systems Integration (CESI) Newcastle academic team explain the energy contribution they are providing to the UKRI Research and Innovation Infrastructure Roadmap. roadmap is very ambitious and wide-ranging, incorporating key UK research strengths such as health, food, environment, engineering, digital and energy. This plan will determine future UK and RIIR priorities, promot- ing the UK as a global leader in research and innovation and set out the most important steps essential to reach the long-term vision [1]. In this context, RIIR incorporates research facilities, laboratories, demonstrators, test beds, Big Data and any other resources and services that are used by the research and inno - vation communities to conduct research and promote innova- tion in their fields [1]. Role of National Centre for Energy Systems Integration The EPSRC National Centre for Energy Systems Integration (CESI), have been commissioned to assist the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) and UKRI in the development of the energy sector portion RIIR roadmap. Our role is to lead on the energy sector consultation with industrial experts and leading academics, collating their ideas and suggestions to inform the scope of the research and inno - vation infrastructure roadmap for energy. CESI's consultation approach has begun by taking a snapshot of existing UK energy research infrastructure. We have also researched the key international facilities which the UK has access to. Our main focus will be to define the future needs for the UK energy system as a whole, ranging from fossil fuels, nuclear energy, to renewable energy sources, hydrogen and, taking input from pure science research to applied engineering and demonstration. More specifically, to achieve our goal we are carrying out an expert elicitation exercise,