Reshaping energy demand to end fossil fuel dependence
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Global energy systems are rapidly transforming. Clean energy is increasingly abundant - particularly from the sun and wind - but we’re failing to fully harness it. Fossil fuels continue to shape prices, emissions, and investment, slowing the progress of the transition and raising costs for consumers.
Centre for Net Zero is proving how flexible demand can change this. Using advanced modelling and real-world trials, we generate open evidence and deploy flexibility at scale. This enables policymakers and system operators to accelerate electrification and build smart energy systems that make fossil fuels redundant.
Our academic papers
Our work
Modelling
Our modelling analyses how flexible demand can minimise fossil fuel use, reduce marginal emissions and costs, and improve grid efficiency under different system conditions. It quantifies where and when flexibility has the greatest effect, providing evidence for policy, market design, and future system planning.
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Research
Our field experiments and randomised controlled trials measure how different consumers adopt low-carbon technologies and optimise their energy use, including through the use of automation and AI. This generates novel empirical evidence on the scale, reliability, and distributional characteristics of flexible demand.
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Impact
Drawing on the insights from our modelling and trials, we deploy flexibility at scale to show what happens when demand is treated as an active part of the system. We publish our research openly and work closely with policymakers, system operators, and innovators to turn evidence into system change.
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+0GW
The amount of renewable capacity added to global energy system in 2025
An increase of 11% compared to the year before, according to Ember.
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The increase in global demand flexibility capacity needed by 2030
If we're to effectively harness the growing amount of renewable power, according to the IEA's Net Zero Scenario - which mandates 500 GW of demand response brought onto the market by 2030.
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Benefits of a flexible energy system in the UK by 2035
Fully flexible heating and transport alone amount to significant savings to the system, every year, according to modelling by Centre for Net Zero - based on the system operator's Future Energy Scenarios.
Latest news
The Guardian: Politics Live
CNZ's insights on the UK Government's Warm Homes Plan features in The Guardian
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More than a numbers game: under the hood of the UK’s public EV charging network
Drawing on data from the Electroverse EV charging platform, the CNZ team look beyond the headline charge point numbers at how drivers use UK public charging.
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Faraday: latest model updates
We’ve updated our genAI model which outputs synthetic smart meter data. The open access model now has locational awareness and is trained on even more data.
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