ERBE CDT

The 11^th annual ERBE Student-Led Conference was hosted by Loughborough University at the James France Building, Loughborough, UK, on the 17^{th of} April 2024. The theme this year was ‘How models can inform policy making for the energy transition’.

The conference was attended by PhD students and early career researchers within energy research pertaining to the built environment and provided a  great opportunity to discuss current research interests and topics amongst peers within a highly collaborative environment.

The conference was split into 2 interconnected themed sessions:

Theme 1: The role of models in energy research – This session  focused on the wide application of models, whether social, theoretical or mathematical, to energy research and explore our experiences, limitations and challenges faced.

Theme 2: Shaping energy policy with our research – This session  focused on how researchers ensure their research is relevant and impactful to wider society.

Well done to our ERBE Students who presented their research at the conference.

Within each theme, there were poster sessions, presentations, networking and a keynote speaker. Erica Thompson, Associate Professor of Modelling for Decision Making at UCL’s Department of Science, Technology, Engineering and Public Policy closed the first session discussing the role of models in research. The second theme closed with an address from Adam Bell, former Head of Energy Strategy at the Department for Business, Energy, and Industrial Strategy (now DESNZ) and the current Director of Energy Policy at Stonehaven.

Congratulations to all our ERBE Students who presented their research posters at the ERBE Colloquium, which took place on Nov 8th in University College, London. Students from MaREI, University of Loughborough and UCL welcomed the opportunity to meet and discuss their research with their peers and industry experts from the ERBE community. 

Keynote Speaker for the event was Julian Leslie, Head of Networks & Chief Engineer, The National Grid ESO. Julian is a chartered engineer with three decades of transmission system operation, planning and investment experience. Julian’s role is to prepare Great Britain’s electricity network for net zero operation, defining future network needs so that market and network owners can invest in the right technology solutions at the right time. He is also responsible for transmission system connections, ensuring that access – both connection and maintenance – is safe, secure and straightforward and keeps consumers’ costs to a minimum.