Centrica launches new research and innovation venture – ‘Energised Futures’

Centrica is establishing a new start-up venture which will bring together research, innovation and development experts into one new venture, Energised Futures. The new unit will help make energy simpler and more affordable for customers and play a pivotal role in defining the future of retail energy.  

Energised Futures will focus on bringing new innovations to market that boost customers' control over their energy, enhance grid security and help to accelerate the decarbonisation of UK homes. The venture will deliver projects from technical proof of concepts to longer-term executions that create a greener, fairer future for customers.

The venture’s expertise will be drawn from across Centrica brands, including British Gas and smart technology provider Hive. Energised Futures will bring together a multi disciplined team of researchers, electrical engineers, AI and machine learning experts as well as social scientists and economists. It will be led by Ben Krikler, PhD who is Director of Research and Innovation within Centrica. 

It will also have an advisory board of leading external academic and industry partners to add different perspectives from cross industry. The board includes Executive Engineering Consultant for Andretti Cadillac, Pat Symonds, and Co-Director of the Energy Futures Lab Professor Peter Childs.

The Energised Futures team have hit the ground running as the lead organisation working with the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero on the Interoperable Residential Energy Flexibility project where they are testing and feeding back on a proposed standard for Demand Side Response in the UK. They are also participating in the Big Data for Next Generation Energy (BD4NRG) consortium, which brings together 35 sector leaders to tackle data management challenges for the energy sector. The project was selected for the European Commission’s Innovation Radar, an initiative to identify high potential innovations in EU-funded research and innovation.

Dan Rosenfield, Managing Director at Centrica New Business & Net Zero, said “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.

“Transformation of the energy market can’t happen in isolation. It’s crucial that we collaborate as an industry to implement best practices, learnings and technology. In doing this, we will develop solutions to achieve a more connected and flexible future of energy in the UK.”

Advisory board member Pat Symonds commented “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. I look forward to bringing to the table my technical and engineering expertise as well as my experience of bringing complex projects to fruition rapidly to help shape these pioneering research initiatives.”

Peter Childs, fellow advisory board member commented “The transition to an electrified and connected energy system will require significant shifts in the way it is operated. With this comes an enormous opportunity for us to act responsibly and sustainably to create the solutions for tomorrow. I’m delighted to join the Energised Futures advisory board to share expertise and provide guidance on their range of exciting research which will help serve the needs of our society.”