The Opportunity
The objective of this Opportunity is to shortlist the submissions that best answer the brief, with the aim of attending a presentation day with the EIC Industry Partners, where it can be discussed in greater detail with a technical panel.
The EIC welcomes submissions from individual companies or companies working in collaboration with each other.
What is the Problem
Northern Gas Networks’ (NGN) gas control centre operates year-round to ensure a continuous supply of natural gas across the north of England. The control centre relies on the following systems, with each one requiring different levels of human interaction:
- SCADA
- Business applications
- Electronic logging system.
The drive towards net zero will involve the introduction of a multi-gas network, increasing the network’s complexity. It’s envisaged there’ll be an additional amount of human interaction required to support the above systems, resulting in staff having to spend less time on strategic initiatives and operational challenges.
Preferred Output
NGN are looking for an innovator to conduct a feasibility study to explore where automation can be deployed into the control room. The solution must evaluate the following:
- Analyse control centre functions/activities, ranking their automation suitability and associated risks
- Identify technology solutions / platforms that integrate with existing systems, providing secure automation and periodic competency testing
- Analyse emerging technologies, such as AI, to assess their potential role in automation and evaluate how technological evolution may shape future approaches
- Understand the impact of evolving net zero policies that focus on:
- Hydrogen blending
- Partial gas system conversion to 100% hydrogen
- Biomethane expansion
- Embedded generation
- The role of automation in balancing gas network supply and demand.
The output of the project will be a report that must document the following:
- Clear benefit cases for each automation opportunity
- Impact analysis on operator awareness and staff competency due to automation
- Platform and technology recommendations for:
- Automation
- Enhancement of situational awareness
- Decision support.
Deadline:
The deadline for submissions to this opportunity is 24 April 2025. Please submit your proposal by clicking the button above.
Q&A Registration:
The Q&A for this opportunity will take place on 10 April 2025 at 10am. You can register to attend by clicking the button at the top of the page, or directly below. Please pre-submit any questions by 5pm on 8 April 2025 to ensure the smooth running of the meeting.