Synaptec is to be the lead partner on one of the first Energy Catalyst projects to be supported by Innovate UK. The Energy Catalyst has been established by Innovate UK, EPSRC, and the Department for Energy and Climate Change to accelerate innovation in the energy sector from concept to pre-commercial readiness.
By coupling into existing optical fibre on power networks, Synaptec’s technology will allow network operators to leverage existing infrastructure to meet both present and future instrumentation demands in a manner that is highly cost-effective, secure, and rapid enough to underpin network protection, monitoring and control functions.
The project, due to begin in April 2015, will be led by Synaptec in partnership with the University of Strathclyde, Glasgow.
Synaptec’s Managing Director, Philip Orr, said:
“This valuable support from Innovate UK will assist Synaptec to develop one of the key technologies that have the potential to address the UK’s ‘energy trilemma’ of reducing emissions, reducing cost, and increasing the security of supply. We look forward to working closely with our partners in Strathclyde and our stakeholders in the UK power industry to develop the first commercial prototypes of this technology.”