Reduction in subsidies and feed-in-tariffs has made investing in renewable technologies financially less attractive to commercial building owners. But, there is a need for renewable generation sources to play a significant role in enabling the UK to meet the emission reduction target of at least 80% of the 1990 level. Although other technologies being adopted like electric vehicles and heat pumps will help lower emissions, without efficient energy management both of these will further increase the peak load on the power system.
Up to 16% of the UK’s peak electricity requirement or 9.8GW can be provided by non-domestic customers either shifting demand away from busy periods or using on-site generation with flexible energy storage2. Qbots provides innovative solutions to utilise this flexibility in demand while integrating energy storage systems in the electricity network to ensure the security of supply while providing the owners of these assets with long-term savings and new revenue streams.
The Q-PLUS project will develop and demonstrate a commercial solution, based on new research, which will help alleviate some of the challenges the UK faces specifically in 'Clean Energy' generation and improving 'health & well-being' through affordable energy and clean air.
Specifically, Manchester Climate Change Agency estimated that in 2016, 46% (1169 kilotons of CO2) of Manchester’s carbon emissions were from commercial buildings. Currently, there is a 15% shortfall to reach the targeted savings by 2020; through this project, Qbots will build the tools necessary to support Manchester in achieving these targets. Qbots is currently working with a range of commercial and manufacturing building owners including Bruntwood, key Universities and hotels within Greater Manchester to bring them the benefits of energy storage and smart energy management technologies.
ENDS
About Qbots Technologies
Qbots is a Manchester-based energy tech startup founded in 2017 specialising in intelligent battery storage management, working on commercial scale battery storage projects in Manchester and Exeter. The founders are experienced in building successful products within the Internet of Things (IoT), data collection and analytics areas. Qbots were selected as part of Exeter City Futures initiative to work addressing the energy challenges faced by Exeter region. With strong partnerships with The University of Manchester and University of Exeter, Qbots are developing business capabilities in artificial intelligence, machine learning, big data analytics and battery energy storage management.
About University of Manchester
UoM has significant and relevant experience in the design of advanced control systems for increasing energy efficiency in buildings, The Power and Energy Division comprises twenty-five academics and around over 100 research staff and Ph.D. students and is part of the School of Electrical and Engineering at The University of Manchester. The University’s energy storage test suite includes - Siemens SIESTORAGE battery-based energy storage system (250 kW,180 kWh) with islanding capability.
About Innovate UK
Innovate UK is the UK’s innovation agency. It works with people, companies and partner organisations, to find and drive the science and technology innovations that will grow the UK economy. For further information please visit www.innovateuk.gov.uk.
If you would like more information, please contact Megan Brown the Digital Media Executive at Qbots on 0161 247 3850 , 0784 064 2120 or email at Megan.Brown@qbots.ai. Visit our website www.qbots.ai
