UK opens InTEGReL research centre in bid to develop zero carbon energy network

The UK’s Northern Gas Networks (NGN) has unveiled a £30mn (US$39.8mn) research centre designed to help develop a fully-integrated, zero carbon energy network.
Based in Gateshead, Newcastle, InTEGReL (Integrated Transport Electricity Gas Research Laboratory) is the first of its kind in the country and will seek to pool leading academic and engineering knowledge.
The teams will work to deliver breakthroughs in the decarbonisation of heat, energy storage and transport, the principal aim being to identify the most affordable and practical solution to moving customers onto low carbon, low cost energy.
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Mark Horsley, CEO of NGN, said: “We are delighted to open InTEGReL which we see as another step forward in our work towards a zero carbon energy future. The site will bring together the best and brightest in this field and encourage the big thinking that is required if we are to secure, affordable, low carbon energy future.
The site will be operated in collaboration with Northern Powergrid and Newcastle University, in partnership with the EPSRC National Centre for Energy Systems Integration
Greg Clark MP, Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, added: “The InTEGReL project demonstrates how the private sector – working with the UK’s world class higher education sector – can take a leading role in helping Britain reach our 2050 emission reduction target.”