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The Undergraduate (MSci)ÌýInnovation and Enterprise student prize was awarded to Maj MisÌý(UCL Physics and Astronomy). The projectÌýwas deemed to have an outstanding innovative aspect and a potential economic and societal impact. The competition aimed to motivate entrepreneurial spirit among the students.

Maj Mis - UCL Physics and AstronomyÌý

"Exploration of Great Britain’s Optimal Energy Supply Mixture and Energy Storage Scenarios Upon a Transition to Net-Zero"

Maj'sÌýsupervisor ProfessorÌýDavidÌýWatersÌýsaid:

"In this project we set out to create a future electricity demand model for the UK, and to understand how a combination of renewables and energy storage could be deployed to reliably meet this demand. Maj did a great job at finding and using complex datasets and clearly laying out the assumptions in his modelling.

"He went far further than I expected in modelling the economics of energy systems and was able, for example, to show quantitatively the impact of various levels of nuclear baseload supply on the cost of electricity. Maj developed a deep understanding of what is a very important topic as the UK and other countries transition to zero-carbon energy systems."

In his response to being awarded the prize, MajÌýstated:

"I am honoured to receive the Innovation and Entrepreneurship prize for my MSci project. Researching the UK’s energy transition helped inform my appreciation for the extent of climate-technology and legislative progress that has already been achieved, as well as the vast challenges which remain unsolved - challenges for engineers, researchers, and policymakers alike.

"The aim of my project was to model Great Britain’s pathway to net-zero emissions by 2050. This involved profiling 2050 daily electricity demand, modelling supply from varying mixtures of renewable power, and designing an algorithm to evaluate grid reliability upon coupling renewable power with (hydrogen) electricity storage. To contextualise findings, I also built a model to evaluate the cost of each combination of renewable power and storage volume that could achieve net-zero and meet energy demand expected in 2050. In addition, I evaluated the potential of excess renewable power to capture remnant carbon emissions from difficult-to-decarbonize industries. I sincerely hope others who are researching the energy transition will find my models useful as a direct tool of analysis or as a guide to building their own.

"I would like to thank my mentor Professor David Waters for his incredibly valuable guidance and insights. Lastly, I would like to commend other researchers and developers whose research I had the privilege to learn from, and whose models I was able to use in my own work – their breakthroughs were an enormous source of inspiration and optimism."