IEA TCP Alternate Delegates

The Hydrogen TCP coordinates and facilitates R&D across the hydrogen value chain (production, storage, distribution, power, heating, industry) to:

accelerate hydrogen implementation

optimise environmental protection

improve global energy systems and grid management

The SHC TCP covers solar thermal (flat plate, tube collectors, PV Thermal), solar cooling and covers many solar based technologies such as solar reactors (e.g. for production of hydrogen)

The TCP has a strong focus on the integration of solar thermal technologies into low carbon systems such as district heating and flexible building heat, the scope is deliberately wide and also covers the use of PV to heat.

The IEA DHC research programme addresses technical and policy issues aimed at lowering environmental impact of heating and cooling.

The IEA DHC deals with the design, performance and operation of distribution systems and consumer installations.

Currently district heating & cooling is still a relatively nascent albeit fast growing sector in the UK whereas European (and international) countries have a significantly more mature DHC Industries from which the UK can benefit from.

The User-Centred Energy Systems mission is to provide evidence from socio-technical research on the design, social acceptance and usability of clean energy technologies to inform policy making for clean, efficient and secure energy transitions.

Objectives focus on areas where user choices and actions play a large role in determining both the variability and overall level of power and energy use.

Bioenergy currently provides the largest fraction of renewable energy in the UK; over half of the 15.5% share of total energy consumption from renewables in 2023.

The mission of IEA Bioenergy is to increase knowledge and understanding of bioenergy systems to facilitate the market deployment of environmentally sound, socially acceptable, and cost-competitive, low-carbon bioenergy systems and technologies, and to advise policy and industrial decision makers accordingly.

The EBC TCP coordinates international research and innovation on energy in buildings and communities, with the aim of furthering energy efficiency and decarbonising energy use of the building stock.

Projects typically cover a wide range of research themes spanning from integrated planning and community scale energy systems to thermal fabric of individual buildings and monitoring energy use of these through case studies.

Current priorities include low tech, robust and affordable technology, energy efficient cooling in hot and humid or dry climates, and holistic solution sets on a district level.

The ISGAN TCP strives for the accelerated development and deployment around the world of smarter, cleaner electricity grids—as in “smart grids”.

ISGAN research explores how electricity grids will play a key role in building system flexibility, maintaining system reliability, and enabling more rapid GHG emission reductions through:

Dynamic management of electricity demand

Better utilization of existing electricity generation assets

Integration of growing supplies of both utility-scale and distributed clean energy systems, especially renewables, battery storage, and the expanding fleet of EVs

The PVPS TCP conducts joint projects in the application of photovoltaic conversion of solar energy to electricity. This includes tasks related to PV sustainability activities, reliability and performance, transport, off-grid and edge-of-grid PV, and building-integrated PV.

The IEA PVPS programme aims to realise its mission through the following objectives:

PV technology development

Competitive PV markets

An environmentally and economically sustainable PV industry

Policy recommendations and strategies

Impartial and reliable information

The TCP aims to increase awareness of progress in new technologies and energy efficiency opportunities in industry.

The work included in IETS ranges from specific developments of process or energy technologies to overall system aspects, for practically all types of industry types.

The TCP currently undertakes diverse tasks related to environmental impacts, data collection and information, emerging geothermal technologies, geothermal heating and cooling, mine water energy, and subsurface energy storage.

The UK leads the Mine Water Energy Expert group, which facilitates increased exploration of mine water energy across the UK.

The Mine Water Symposium 2024 had speakers and workshops which discussed current schemes, modelling mine water energy systems, thermal storage, raising awareness of mine water energy and regulatory needs.