Future developments

Future developments in clean energy

We’re in the middle of an energy revolution driven by climate change, new technology and sustainability. We're becoming more empowered and better-connected consumers.

Today’s energy companies must adapt to survive and grow. We see these changes as a challenge, but also a significant opportunity to create value for our customers, partners and shareholders. 

National Grid Ventures is focused on future opportunities we see emerging in several areas, including:

• clean energy innovation

• competitive energy transmission projects

• offshore wind

• carbon capture, usage and storage.

Clean energy innovation

We’re looking to bring new technology to market to change the way homes and businesses interact with energy. We’re also working with a number of innovative partners who are changing the role of the traditional utility. 

• Enbala – we’re an investor in Enbala, which develops and deploys software that aggregates customer electricity demand, along with energy storage and renewable energy sources, to create a network of continuously optimised distributed energy sources.

Competitive energy transmission projects

We’re competing for large-scale transmission projects across North America and the UK. Our know-how and experience make us uniquely qualified to deliver large-scale transmission assets, which will continue to play a critical role in tomorrow’s cleaner and smarter energy systems.

• Viking Link: expected to be operational in 2023, Viking Link is a 700 kilometre subsea cable that will enable the trade of renewable energy between Denmark and the UK.
• New York Energy Solution: this project, being developed by New York Transco, was selected by NYISO to provide transmission upgrades that will relieve historic congestion of New York’s bulk electric power system, while enhancing reliability and facilitating upstate clean energy resources to the downstate demand centers. The upgrades will take place on an existing 54.5-mile utility corridor and on utility-owned land.

Offshore Wind

The wind industry will play a central role in eliminating carbon from the power sector globally. We are exploring how our expertise in subsea electricity interconnectors and electricity transmission can support offshore wind efforts in both the UK and US.

• Wind Europe: National Grid Ventures recently became a member of WindEurope, given our expertise with subsea electricity interconnectors enabling the sharing of renewable energy between the UK and Europe. We see a role for us to enable the transmission infrastructure needed to connect and deliver offshore wind.
• Revolution Wind: Ørsted and Eversource are developing 704 MW of offshore wind capacity for residents of Rhode Island and Connecticut with their Revolution Wind project. We will be working with the joint venture to connect its Revolution Wind project to the onshore transmission system, facilitating additional clean energy to the region from offshore wind. 

Carbon capture, usage and storage

Carbon capture, usage and storage (CCUS) is one of the most viable ways to decarbonise industry, generate low carbon power and enable the production of low carbon hydrogen at scale, which can, in turn, enable decarbonisation across the energy system.

In 2019, National Grid Ventures signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Drax Group and Equinor, committing us to explore how a large-scale CCUS network and a hydrogen production facility could be constructed in the Humber region of the UK in the mid-2020s.

Storing carbon emissions from energy-intensive sectors brings clean growth to industrial areas, supporting the delivery of a clean energy future. The partnership could lead to the Humber becoming the world’s first net-zero carbon region and home to a new world-leading hydrogen economy. More details about the partnership can be found here.