Episode 29: A Look at the Energy Superhub Oxford with Tim Rose
A Look at the Energy Superhub Oxford with Tim Rose
Henry McDonald speaks to Tim Rose, the Program Lead for the Energy Super Hub Oxford Project.
Tim Rose is one of the speakers at FOOTPRINT+. He is a low-carbon consultant with 25 years in the renewable energy and aerospace sectors. And now through his role at Pivot Power, Tim is the program lead for the Energy Super Hub Oxford Project, a joint venture, combining the technologies for charging electric vehicles, large scale energy storage, and electrification of heat, which together form a core element of the city of Oxford’s ambitious decarbonisation plans.
What is Energy Superhub Oxford?
Our Electric Vehicle (EV) charging network – connected to the National Grid’s high voltage electricity transmission network – will bring an unprecedented amount of power to Oxford for rapid vehicle charging, the charging of big vehicle fleets, and the addition of new chargers as demand grows.
Our hybrid battery is the first of its type in the world to explore the synergies of lithium-ion and vanadium flow technology from flow specialists Invinity Energy Systems, who will incorporate a new Overdrive (extra power) mode into the battery.
Innovative, small ‘shoebox’ ground source heat pumps will show one way in which we can help to eliminate the carbon associated with heating our homes and businesses.
Our Optimisation and Trading Engine underpins the whole project. This will control the activity of the battery and the EV chargers so that they automatically use cheaper, cleaner electricity when available. The heat pumps will also use newly developed smart controls to optimise comfort and cost for residents.
The Energy Superhub Oxford (ESO) is one of three demonstrator projects part-funded by the UK government’s Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund under its “Prospering from the Energy Revolution” (PFER) programme. The PFER programme is about delivering innovation in smart local energy systems.
