Issue link: https://fhpublishing.uberflip.com/i/951810
E mbracing the digital world is cri cal, whether you're a supplier, an investor or an innovator. New technologies disrupt the u li es industry constantly, and companies must always be ready to adapt strategies, processes and organisa onal infrastructure to ensure they are not outpaced in the race to keep up with ever increasing customer service and effi ciency expecta ons. Most u li es have recognised that while this disrup ve churn is challenging, it is worth the eff ort to keep running with it. As a consequence, even companies with stringent effi ciency goals and slim margins are increasingly making money available for investments in technologies they see to be closely aligned to their futures. By and large, this means investment in digital technologies, which will underpin data-enabled smart services and the opera on of intelligent infrastructure. Digital disrup on of u li es, if embraced eff ec vely, will allow them to meet customer demands, appease regulators, overcome environmental challenges and, in short, remain relevant. In the second of a fi ve-part series detailing the responses of more than 700 u li es professionals, we reveal the top 10 technologies disrup ng the sector – and what they will mean for the industry. As we approach U lity Week Live 2018, we look at the trends, technologies and factors that are set to disrupt u lity business models in the years to come. In this issue: Disruptor technologies. D I S R U - P T I O N THE TECH: ENERGY STORAGE What's the deal: Storage emerged as the most disrup ve technology cited in the survey by a country mile, with ba ery storage gleaning the most air me. While lithium ion ba eries remain the technology of choice for most ba ery storage applica ons, other op ons including fl ow ba eries and compressed air, are fi gh ng to prove their worth too. To help sort the wheat from the chaff in terms of the technologies with the most poten al for high value applica ons, government is pouring in money, with £42m commi ed in 2017 to the Faraday Ins tu on to support ba ery storage R&D. Why it ma ers: Energy storage is star ng to play a broader role in energy markets, moving from niche applica ons to mainstream interac on with crucial grid balancing mechanisms and enabling higher reliance on renewable genera on, whose intermi ency would otherwise necessitate con nued reliance on more carbon intensive power sources. Say what?: Richard Catlow, foreign secretary of the Royal Society and professor at University College London (UCL): "Using more electricity will be key in reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The European Academies Science Advisory Council found that advances in large-scale electricity storage is a priority to manage our dependence on renewable energies." P R E S E N T S NETWORK / 30 / MARCH 2018