Public Funding for Schneider Electric Limited

Awaiting Public Summary

"Building Management Systems (BMS) are computer-based systems that monitor and control electro-mechanical functions in facilities (hospitals, airports, universities, shopping centres, public buildings, etc.) easing the day-to-day management. BMS can incorporate Internet of Things (IoT) assets (i.e. a collection of sensors and electronic devices connected to the web), which help to improve the efficiency of the facility. BMS are exorbitantly priced and are only employed by large facilities that can afford the initial investment. BMS do not fully provide IoT-enabled intelligent capabilities such as predictive maintenance (e.g. to predict when machinery needs repair) and prescriptive operational plans. Also, BMS has not been developed with cyber-security in mind which makes them vulnerable to attacks that can drastically disrupt their building operations. This project will develop a Holistic Digital Solution (HDS) for secure and affordable BMS. The project will (i) significantly reduce the time required to develop IoT-enabled BMS, thus reducing their development cost and increasing their affordability, (ii) leverage Big Data Analytics and Machine Learning techniques (e.g. deep learning) to enable predictive maintenance and optimised operations, (iii) reduce the time and effort required for technicians to carry out inspection and maintenance tasks; by guiding technicians through the facility and directing them to the specific equipment. It will also provide the technicians with all the information required to carry out their job, (iv) use attack-models and Machine Learning to carry out cyber-security vulnerability audits to improve the robustness of the BMS. _Keywords_: Internet-of-Things, Augmented Reality, Big Data Analytics, Deep Learning, Cyber-Security."

In this project the Dover-Calais/Dunkirk Green Corridor consortium focuses on the development and feasibility of implementing a green corridor (GC) between the Port of Dover (PoD) and the Ports of Calais and Dunkirk. The project takes the Dover--Calais/Dunkirk route, as its feasibility case and will investigate viable energy pathways for the corridor providing a business case and delivery plan for the implementation of a GC, based on roll on, roll off (Ro/Ro) car, van, truck, and passenger carrying ferry vessels. PoD is the busiest ferry port in the UK, responsible for 33% of UK-EU trade, and 59% of all UK-EU ferry movements. Therefore, working towards a future where the unique capacity and resilience of the shortest crossing to Europe can be sustainably delivered is of utmost importance to both PoD and the Ports of Calais/Dunkirk, for port customers, as well as the UK. The GCSS project partners will collaborate for eight months to identify and analyse the full value chain and determine viable energy pathway options for both marine and landside vessels and vehicles. A Well-to-Wake and Well-to-Wheel analysis will be completed on all viable energy pathways to assess direct and indirect environmental impacts for each pathway. The analysis will also identify relevant regulations and policy, how a GC would comply with these regulations and identify any missing policy measures that are required to successfully implement a GC. The project will ultimately produce a GC business case and route map that can be used to both scale up the number of zero-emission vessels and corresponding landside infrastructure, but also to attract private sector investment and replicate the corridor elsewhere. The project will not only support PoD's ambition to be carbon net-zero (for scope 1 and 2) by 2025 but also ensures the consortium members, representing the whole port, regional systems, and the investment community can be a part of the first GC. The project will also help support the UK's commitment to the Clydebank Declaration, which was agreed at COP 26, and ultimately help meet the zero emission shipping ambitions of the UK's 'Clean Maritime Plan', envisaging the UK as a global leader in clean shipping by 2050\. It will also allow customers a range of low carbon choices to transport passengers and freight on this vital route.

In this project, the Dover Clean Ferry Power (DCFP) consortium focuses on the development of innovative solutions to accelerate the adoption of (plug in) hybrid or fully electric propulsion vessels in the Short Straits (Dover to Calais and Dunkirk) ferry fleet, with the potential to extend to cruise and cargo operators if appropriate. The project takes the Port of Dover (PoD), the busiest ferry port in the UK, as its feasibility case and investigates alternative, reliable pathways for the provision of electricity for Channel crossing ferries at the PoD over short, medium and long-term planning horizons, ultimately working towards a future where the unique capacity and resilience of the shortest crossing to Europe can be sustainably delivered for the nation. The DCFP project partners will collaborate over seven months to identify the current and future electrical power demands of the ferries operating at the PoD. It will find viable, sustainable emissions-minimising pathways for the on-shore supply of the required demand, with minimum impact on the daily business of the port and its ferries. This project will support the delivery of the Port of Dover Air Quality Action Plan as well as Net Zero delivery for the port, operators and customers. This will ultimately help meet the zero emissions shipping ambitions of UK's 'Clean Maritime Plan', envisaging the UK as a global leader in clean shipping by 2050\.

The 'Hydrogen in an Integrated Maritime Energy Transition' (HIMET) project will demonstrate maritime decarbonisation enabling technologies, encompassing the design, development, and demonstration of four solutions: 1.Hydrogen systems and future micro-grid architectures for resilient shore-side power, including testing of a hybrid hydrogen/solar system and deployment of this hybrid system on Orkney; 2.Combustion of hydrogen in a marine propulsion engine, through testing at a dedicated hydrogen test facility in the north east of England; 3.Demonstration of a marinised hydrogen storage container, for the application on board a vessel; and 4. Hydrogen fuel cell demonstration, showing the potential of the technology to safely supply auxiliary power for a vessel. This ambitious programme of activities will focus on the decarbonisation of two key maritime sectors in Orkney: ferry service and cruise terminal operations. These first-of-a-kind demonstrations will build the evidence base needed to enable broader maritime decarbonisation using hydrogen technologies. Although our activities focus on addressing challenges seen in the Orkney context, our findings will be applicable to all island and coastal environments where vessels provide vital lifeline services. After project demonstration activities are complete, HIMET partners will pursue opportunities to develop applications for type approval of the systems demonstrated, in order to facilitate uptake across the UK, and beyond. This will create market opportunities for the integrated HIMET team of UK technology developers and maritime engineering experts. In parallel, we will also carry out research and stakeholder engagement activities to establish how these deployments can best inform the broader maritime energy transition in Orkney and elsewhere. We will draw upon embedded energy system and maritime innovation expertise in Orkney and in the north east of England, both areas identified as centres of excellence in research and development for these sectors. Our consortium is further strengthened by the involvement of leading technology developers from all across the United Kingdom, who will bring their innovative systems and solutions to Orkney for testing in our "living laboratory". This combined work programme will build on Orkney's position as an ideal location to research, develop and demonstrate the maritime technologies and working practices of the future.

A key challenge facing the UK Distribution Network Operators (DNOs) today is the increasing demand for power being placed on residential networks e.g. by the proliferation of electrical vehicles (EVs) and the move to electro-heat. Also, the increase in distributed generation (DG) is now resulting in unacceptable local voltage rises. This project follows on from a TSB Feasibility Study which showed that a cost effective solution to these problems can be achieved on the existing infrastructure by increasing the local network phase voltage to 400 V (existing cable is rated at 600V). To step the voltage back down to 230 V at each house, DNO-owned, low-cost, 99% efficient power electronic converters (PECs) will need to be installed in the meter-box. Our previous study showed that the 99% efficiency was essential to avoid over-heating in the meter-box and hence new, low-cost 3C SiC devices were mandatory. This system will not only increase network capacity, but also provide optimised connections for emerging EV charging, DG and energy storage - the “smart-grid”. The project will develop a PEC prototype which will be deployed by Western Power Distribution in a small-scale demonstration of the project.