UKEDC: The EDC at the UKERC Annual Assembly 2026

Last month, the Energy Data Centre (EDC) team joined the rest of the UK Energy Research Centre (UKERC) for its Annual Assembly held at the Edinburgh Futures Institute. This event brings together the members of UKERC across its consortium and provides an opportunity to learn about the innovative research being carried out across the current UKERC research themes. This event also hosted many panels from a range of academics, industry and government members to discuss the current energy market and to highlight the necessity of continued research in the most pressing areas of the UK energy sector as well as its place amongst the wider global energy landscape.

"This year's assembly reminded me of the impact that UKERC's cross-cutting research has had, and is having, on informing and shaping energy policy in the UK. It was also a great opportunity to describe the role of the Energy Data Centre to new members of the UKERC 'family'." - Jim Halliday

A key topic discussed throughout this assembly was Research Integration. This idea aims to better utilise the research potential within an interdisciplinary research consortium like UKERC by further engaging in cross-departmental collaboration where possible. Discussions on how Research Integration can best be facilitated and promoted were very insightful, and the EDC is eager to be able to contribute to this goal of integrated collaboration.

"I was really struck by the breadth of different topics and discussions at this years Annual Assembly. Bringing together insights on energy affordability, infrastructure delivery, public engagement and system resilience is the kind of exchange that's needed to turn research into meaningful policy and real-world impact for the UK's energy future." - Peter Holt

The EDC was given time to highlight the recent work that has been done on our service, from developing a tool to optimise the data management process for UKERC researchers, demonstrating continuing refinement by improving the accessibility of our service to users, and showcasing some useful insights regarding the specific areas of interest the wider energy research community are looking into through our service (more details on all of these areas of work will be showcased in future blogs).

"It was really important to meet the researchers and understand how we fit into the research landscape within UKERC. It was interesting to see what cutting edge research related to current affairs was being undertaken." - Vivek Mistry

"Learning more about the work being done across the difference UKERC research themes was incredibly interesting. The discussions on Research Integration and public perception of Net-Zero were particularly insightful to me. I look forwarding to exploring how the EDC will further support the innovative research being done within UKERC." - Oliver Brough

To find out more details about the topics and panels across the two days of the Annual Assembly, along with the overall insights gained from the event, read the UKERC news page: UKERC Annual Assembly 2026 - Energy Minister to UKERC: "We Will be Relying on you More Than Ever".

Additionally, to read reflections of the event from a group of Early Career Researchers, read the UKERC news page: Beyond Research: Early Career Reflections on Relevance and Impact at the UKERC Annual Assembly, 2026.