Westminster Energy, Environment & Transport Forum

For booking-related queries or information on speaking please email us at info@forumsupport.co.uk, or contact us: +44 (0)1344 864796.

UK energy research and innovation - commercial and investment priorities, skills supply, and next steps for policy

March 2020


Price: £95 PLUS VAT
Format: DOWNLOADABLE PDF


This conference will assess priorities for accelerating innovation in energy technologies in the UK - looking at both established and emerging sectors.


With trade talks beginning with the EU and wider global partners - and a raft of policy commitments from the new government - areas for discussion include:


  • Promised support for research and energy innovation, and implications for the sector- including supporting new projects, net-zero targets, and the policy drive towards green energy;
  • Priorities for the planned energy white paper and further government initiatives already in progress;
  • The UK energy sector’s own priorities for innovation and investment; and
  • The skills pipeline, including the newly announced visas policy, and what is needed to remove barriers for international researchers looking to work in the UK.

Speakers and chair


There will be keynote addresses from:


  • Matthew Billson, Head of Strategy - Energy Innovation Programme, BEIS; and
  • Professor Charlotte Deane, Deputy Executive Chair, The Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council.

Further keynote contributors include: Laura Brown, Newcastle University; Susan Falch-Lovesey, Vattenfall; Sebastian Foot, Navigant; Professor Martin Freer, Energy Research Accelerator and Birmingham Energy Institute, University of Birmingham and Filippo Gaddo, Arup.


Also speaking are: David Cole, Atkins; Dr Kirsty Hewitson, National Nuclear Laboratory; Dr Fatemeh Rezazadeh, Siemens Energy; David Ryan, PowerHouse Energy Group and Gemma Stanley, Solar Trade Association.


Lord Ravensdale has kindly agreed to chair part of this seminar.


Engagement with policy officials at this conference


This Westminster Energy, Environment & Transport Forum conference has attracted particularly strong interest from policymakers. It will be an opportunity for stakeholders to engage with officials who have already reserved places representing: BEIS; the Nuclear Innovation and Research Office; the Office for Nuclear Regulation; the Cabinet Office; the Crown Commercial Service; DfT; the Office for Low Emission Vehicles; OLEV; DIT; HSE; the UK Committee on Climate Change; the Office for the Secretary of State for Wales; and the Welsh Government.


The agenda


  • Priorities for supporting innovation in energy technology - investment, policy developments, and net-zero emission targets;
  • Innovation in established and emerging energy technologies - decarbonisation, cost reduction, and bringing projects to market;
  • Business development, commercialisation, and supporting investor confidence;
  • Future models for investment and support - and expansion of the regulated asset base;
  • Exports based on UK energy technology development - assessing the opportunities;
  • Research, innovation and scalability across the energy sector:
    • Growing national clusters for research and innovation in energy, and addressing regional imbalances in resources and capacity;
    • Ensuring technology development works for industry - whole-system compatibility, working with supply chains, and minimising costs; and
    • Access to skills and technical capabilities for advanced technology, and preparing the workforce.
  • Using latest developments in scientific research and evidence to inform policymaking and long-term strategies.


This pack includes

  • Dropbox video recording of the conference
  • PDF transcript of the discussion, including all speaker remarks and Q&A
  • PDFs of speakers' slide material (subject to permission)
  • PDFs of the delegate pack, including speaker biographies and attendee list
  • PDFs of delegate articles