Our Innovation Themes
We aligned our innovation project portfolio to six key themes:
Safety and emergency – seeking out solutions that keep people safe in everything we do
Under this theme we focused on developing new ways to assess the condition of our buried pipework and manage the risks associated with aging assets. Alongside this we looked into innovative solutions to reduce the risk of damage by third parties working on or near our pipelines.
Environment, sustainability and low carbon – reducing our impact on the world around us
Under this theme we focused on identifying and monitoring potential emissions from our network and assets and explored ways that we can significantly reduce the direct emissions that come from our operations.
Strategic – delivering value for our stakeholders by providing a safe and efficient service Under this theme we focused on building strong partnerships with suppliers and research institutions to make sure we’re at the forefront of academic research. We also developed our understanding of the flow characteristics of the gas transmission network and looked at how we can build and utilise mathematical models to effectively manage the network.
Customer and commercial – understanding the needs and priorities of our customers to provide exceptional service
Under this theme we explored how future gas quality could affect industrial and commercial energy users and looked at developing new methods in areas such as network constraint modelling, so we can continue to meet customer demands. Alongside this, we looked at innovative ways to minimise disruption and inconvenience within the communities close to our sites.
Reliability, operability and maintenance – using innovation to keep our network safe, secure and reliable for the future
Under this theme we looked into the least intrusive and most efficient ways to inspect, assess and repair our assets and explored how new materials could transform the way we operate. Alongside this, we looked at ways that newly emerging technologies could provide us with more accurate information to help us manage our network more efficiently in future.
Security – innovating to improve security and minimise threats to our network
Under this theme we made progress using open-source software to protect the systems at our compressor stations and focused on security at our above-ground installations (AGIs), through the development of intruder detection systems.