The transition to an affordable, resilient, and net zero future energy system in the UK requires a more digitally connected sector, necessitating significant changes in its approach to sharing data.

Following the Energy Digitalisation Taskforce in 2022 and its recommendations to develop a ‘digital spine’ for the sector, a feasibility study was commissioned by the UK Government’s Department for Energy, Security and Net Zero to scope what precisely a ‘digital spine’ is, and how it might be developed to benefit the energy sector.

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Arup, in partnership with Energy Systems Catapult and the University of Bath, delivered a 6-month feasibility study to explore the concept of a ‘digital spine’, identifying the needs case and challenges for the energy sector to facilitate data sharing through a digital infrastructure.

The study highlighted the challenges for the energy sector to facilitate data sharing and how these challenges could be overcome through an enabling infrastructure. It presents the cumulative thinking of the consortium, along with the 100+ individuals and cross-sector organisations that were consulted in the co-creation of what has now become the concept of a data sharing infrastructure.

An energy sector data sharing infrastructure will provide a secure and resilient method of sharing data, which is a vital component in the decarbonisation of Great Britain’s energy system. It will reduce the barriers and friction of data sharing – with better, assured data-sharing and cross-network collaboration enabling a more efficient, responsive flow of energy around the network and more intelligent balancing of the system, unlocking benefits for consumers, businesses, and energy companies.

Enabling a data sharing infrastructure

Through stakeholder engagement, market research, and leveraging the consortium's internal expertise, the concept was explored through the lens of priority energy sector use cases, such as flexibility and vulnerable customers, to understand the technical and non-technical requirements of a data sharing infrastructure.  

The study defined the technical architecture, security considerations, governance models, and the pathways and delivery routes necessary to enable a data sharing infrastructure within the energy sector.

The delivery routes considered existing national/sector programmes, such as the National Digital Twin Programme and the Virtual Energy System Programme, that could be linked together to support the creation of a data sharing infrastructure.

The data sharing infrastructure is made up of three functional components:

1. Prepare: a cross-sector data preparation node

A node on the organisation's own infrastructure that prepares data into a minimum operable data standard (specific to each data type and use case), and presents it through standard APIs, access and security controls.

2. Trust: a sector-wide trust framework

Provides the definition, implementation, and governance of the legal and identity frameworks. This establishes the user's confidence, right, and legality, where required, to share data between parties.

3. Share: a sector-wide data sharing mechanism

The connectivity layer and technology implementation for the governance of access controls to data.

Stakeholder engagement

This feasibility study was undertaken with a stakeholder–led culture to ensure the delivery of a data sharing infrastructure meets the diverse needs of sectors. Recognising this, the team conducted over 100 engagement sessions, reaching out to stakeholders spanning energy, government, academia, heat, and other cross-sector industries.

These sessions served as platforms for open dialogue, allowing stakeholders to articulate their specific requirements, potential challenges, and expectations. They validated the needs of the sector, as previously defined in the various initiatives, such as the Energy Digitalisation Taskforce, concluding an interoperable data sharing infrastructure is required, and requires government intervention for most efficient implementation.

Needs assessment and solution design

Arup played a key role in analysing the business needs and potential solutions for a ‘digital spine’. Through stakeholder engagement, market research, and leveraging the consortium's internal expertise, our team of business analysts defined 15 initial use cases, categorized as Day 1 and strategic.

Building on this analysis, the consortium developed a conceptual technical architecture. This architecture brought the concept to life by illustrating the user journey, key components, their interactions, and how they would support the identified use cases. By establishing these building blocks, our analysis provided a solid foundation for evaluating the project's feasibility and direction.

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