The UK’s energy sector is changing more rapidly than ever before, driven by societal expectations and today’s challenging economic environment. According to a report published by industry body OGUK, “The Pathway to Net Zero: Production Emissions Targets”, the sector plans to reduce emissions by “50 per cent by 2035 and 90 per cent by 2040, accounting for all GHG (Green House Gas) emissions from all upstream oil and gas operations (compared with a 2018 baseline, including reductions from the decommissioning of assets)”. They further stated that “There is a gap between what is currently technically feasible and what is commercially feasible to deliver this ambition”. Given these ambitious goals, it is essential to find, develop and deploy technologies to help meet these targets.
The need for accelerated technology deployment has increased further as a result of the current low oil price and the current COVID-19 challenges. Doing what you’ve always done is simply not good enough to stay in business. The pressure to continuously improve goes as well as for Renewables, such that the unit cost goes down and the sector becomes competitive with traditional energy sources.
Hence the need for accelerated technology deployment is there and is not going to disappear.
The challenge many Operators, Developers & End-users are familiar with is that there are thousands of technologies on the market, but it can be difficult to identify the potential value it can bring to their operations. For most in the energy sector, it can be almost overwhelming and impossible to find what is available quickly. In fact, many may find it challenging to compare and have a clear overview of a technology Pros & Cons and specifications, as well as any relevant track record and reviews from companies that have already used the technology.
To help address these challenges, the UK Energy Technology Platform was recently launched. In this article, we talk to Colin Black, Founder and Owner of Carjon-NRG, an Aberdeen headquartered Technology Deployment Service Company, delivering energy innovation around the world. Together we discuss the UK Energy Technology Platform, its functionalities, how it can address business needs and how it is a revolutionary asset for the Energy Industry - keeping in mind the challenges as outlined above!
What role will the UK Energy Technology Platform play in helping to reduce CO2 emissions by 2035?
Our objective for the new UK Energy Technology platform is to connect technologies to Operators, Developers and End-Users in the UK Oil, Gas & Renewable Energy sectors. The online platform is fully aligned with the Oil & Gas Authority, MER-UK & Net-Zero strategy as set out by the Technology Leadership Board, as well as, Oil & Gas UK Led Energy Transition Roadmap 2035. As such, it will support the industry with the drive to make the most of existing assets whilst reducing CO2 emissions. It will also support the UK economy through the export of UK technologies and expertise, as well as, assist innovators to connect with operators and deploy their technologies rapidly.
What are the benefits for Operators, Developers, End-Users and Suppliers?
Operators, Developers and End-Users are keen to innovate, but they often struggle to know which technologies are available, and what has already been used by other Operators and in other parts of the world. Moreover, people often don’t have the specific technical expertise required to sustainably embed the technology in their business. The UK Energy technology Platform helps them to quickly get an overview of available technologies, underpinned by deployment references and reviews. And provide access to effective support services required to get the technology deployed. Suppliers can promote their technologies on the UK Energy Technology Platform for free, and individual users can access the content for free. In addition, they can commission relevant services to support the uptake of technology.
What makes the UK Energy Technology Platform different from other Energy technology platforms?
The UK Energy Technology Platform provides users with a list of technologies available on the market. We support them with additional information, such as reviews from experts, relative business impact and Technology Readiness Level. The aim of adding the relative business impact and Technology Readiness Level is to support End-Users in evaluating technologies that can help their organisation. Based on past experience, we know that this type of information provides a better visual representation of a technology to end-users as well as, illustrates to what extent the technology is fully operational and can be introduced into the market.
The UK Energy Technology Platform was initiated by people who have tens of years of experience with technology deployment in the Energy industry, and have collectively been involved in over 700 technology deployments. We understand what it takes to position technology for success and to get it deployed and replicated. There are not many people with such a background in the Energy industry!
How does the UK Energy Technology Platform work?
When a user visits the UK Energy Technology platform, users will be able to select relevant categories in the energy sector quickly. The filter functionality is similar to what you would find on sites such as Booking.com and Tripadvisor, where you can tick the boxes such that the relevant subset of available hotels or restaurants is shown. Essentially how it works: The moment a user clicks on one of the categories, he/she will get an overview of the technologies in the oil and energy sector. They will have a complete overview of the technology that has been used or where the deployment of the technology is in progress.
Will the UK platform focus on novel innovations, proven technologies, or both?
Both. Most companies in the Energy industry want to be a (fast) follower, and they are therefore most interested in technologies successfully used by others. However, my experience also is that the moment value is realised through the deployment of proven technologies; end-users are open to hearing about novel solutions. The proven technologies can, therefore, help to pave the path for novel solutions.
Is the UK Platform only focussing on the UK market?
The challenges that UK Operators, Developers and End-Users face are also there outside of the UK. This offers enormous opportunities for the export of UK products and expertise. The objective of the UK Energy Technology Platform therefore also is to make the UK technology & expertise visible abroad, this way supporting trade. Similar to the way the recently launched Netherlands Energy Technology Platform works, which was launched at the request of Dutch governmental parties to support trade.
This all sounds great. How to get started?
Just go to uk.energytechnologyplatform.com, and start navigating for free! As a supplier and consultant, you can also create visibility for your technologies & expertise for free. Just click on the registration button, and follow the steps. Our Support Team will help you to get your page online quickly. Besides the free subscriptions, we also offer suppliers and consultants paid subscriptions to attract the best customers.
As an introduction to the new UK Energy Technology Platform, we offer a discount of 25% on paid services for the first year. Just fill out ‘UKETP introduction discount’ in the comment box. Offer valid until 30th September 2020.
About Colin Black
With over 37 years in Oil, Gas & Energy, Colin has deployed specialist Well Service equipment and innovative technologies in Offshore & Onshore locations internationally and helped develop the business of numerous Technology Service Companies. For 25 years Colin has also supported many conferences & exhibitions to share knowledge by establishing industry challenges and helping the organisers identify relevant abstracts, case studies and informative technology presentations, he is also the co-inventor of numerous patents. Colin is a Contractor Advisory Council member of Oil & Gas UK (OGUK), ETF Task Force Steering group member of OGUK, SPE Aberdeen Director, Offshore Achievements Awards (OAA) Judge, committee member of Energy Institute, Aberdeen, Highlands & Islands branch and member of The Chartered Management Institute , Society for Underwater Technology and chairs the NASA in Aberdeen “Inspiring the Next Generation of 21st Century Explorers” collaborative Schools education project. In 2018, Colin was appointed as a “GlobalScot” (www.globalscot.com) by the Scottish Government and Scottish Development International.
About the UK Energy Technology Platform
Recognising the challenge faced by many UK operators and technology end-users, Aberdeen Headquartered Technology Deployment Service Company Carjon-NRG has partnered with Deployment Matters to create the UK Energy Technology Platform.
This online platform is fully aligned with the Oil & Gas Authority, MER-UK & Net-Zero strategy as set out by the Technology Leadership Board, as well as, Oil & Gas UK Led Energy Transition Roadmap 2035. As such, it will support the industry with the drive to make the most of existing assets while reducing CO2 emissions. It will also support the UK economy through the export of UK technologies and expertise,
This Online Platform within the Technology Catalogue assists innovators to connect with operators and deploy their technologies rapidly. Visit the platform to learn more: https://uk.energytechnologyplatform.com/uk-energy-technology-platform