Exeter partners with National Grid to accelerate clean energy innovation

National Grid Electricity Transmission (NGET) has announced innovation partnerships with ten UK universities – including the University of Exeter – to accelerate the clean energy transition.

NGET said the partnerships bring world‑class research and specialist expertise into its innovation portfolio, helping to address some of the most complex technical, operational and system‑wide challenges involved in building and operating the future electricity transmission network.

The partnerships cover the five-year period of the “RIIO-T3” – the price control framework for UK electricity and gas transmission networks from 2026-2031.

Exeter’s partnerships with NGET will develop and deliver innovation projects in the following areas:

• Electricity transmission AC/DC network assets (overhead lines, cables and substation equipment) and their accessories, including aspects such as design, materials, operation and maintenance.
• Modelling, simulation, control and protection of power systems.
• Digital transformation of power systems, including monitoring, data management and analysis, robotics, virtual and augmented reality, and artificial intelligence applications tailored for transmission networks.

Professor Zhong Fan said: “We’re delighted that the University of Exeter has been selected as one of NGET’s academic innovation partners for RIIO-T3.

“This is exactly the kind of long-term, applied collaboration that turns university research into real-world impact.

“Over the next five years, we’ll be working shoulder-to-shoulder with NGET’s engineers to help solve some of the hardest technical challenges in the clean energy transition – accelerating innovation that keeps the transmission network safe, resilient and affordable as it scales to meet net zero.”

NGET said RIIO-T3 represents a “step change” in the infrastructure it must deliver – faster, more efficiently and more sustainably, while maintaining the highest standards of safety and resilience.

With up to £31 billion of investment between 2026 and 2031, it will enable the connection of 35GW of new generation and storage, and nearly double the amount of power that can be transported across the country.

Neil McClymont, Head of Innovation at NGET, said: “Working closely with universities across the UK is a vital part of how we turn new ideas into real‑world solutions for the electricity network.

“By expanding the range of academic partners we collaborate with, we’re able to draw on a wider pool of expertise and accelerate the development of innovative technologies and approaches that help keep the network safe, resilient and affordable for the long term.”