ABERDEEN-BASED ITI Energy has announced the start of a new research and development (R&D) project aimed at boosting the technologies needed to support a next-generation power grid.
The intermediary technology institute said yesterday it was investing £3.03million in the programme, which it hopes will lead to innovations to save energy and boost reliability while reducing costs and environmental impact.
R&D work on new hardware and software for integrated power and information communication technology systems will take place over 30 months.
It is hoped the project will exploit initiatives such as the UK Government’s plan to have every home equipped with a smart meter, allowing better control of energy use, by 2020.
ITI Energy said a further aim was to create innovative business models to “stimulate market competitiveness and economic development”. Duncan Botting, the ITI’s managing director, added: “The electricity supply industry is undergoing a period of radical change.
“Ageing energy infrastructure, combined with increasing focus on improving energy efficiencies through low-carbon technologies, creates many challenges.”
The market for new technologies to underpin future energy supply networks is expected to reach £17billion in America alone by 2014.
ITI Energy has commissioned The Technology Partnership, a technology and product development firm based near Cambridge, to work on hardware innovations.
Dunfermline software firm Bitwise will focus on other areas of the project.
Meanwhile, ITI Life Sciences, in Dundee, has announced the completion of a 10-week feasibility study into the adaptability of “at-home” monitoring of cardiac conditions for veterinary care.