ProfessorRobert Gross

Director, UK Energy Research Centre

Director, Centre for Energy Policy and Technology

Policy Director, Energy Futures Lab

Convenor of the Economics and Policy Module, MSc Sustainable Energy Futures

Thesis Term Director, MSc Environmental Technology

Research Impacts:

High impact output. Highly cited in departmental white papers, parliamentary select committee reports and non-departmental policy reports. Numerous high profile inputs to policy and direct interaction with senior policymakers and Ministers up to Secretary of State level.

Research Interests:

Energy policy specialist, with a cross disciplinary background in economics, engineering, system modelling and scenarios. Strong interest in technology and innovation. Track record in evidence based policy, contributions to policy developments, parliamentary committees, mainstream and popular media. Invited speaker at numerous industry, policy and academic conferences, meetings and workshops.

Short Biog:
The purpose of economic and policy research is to inform and impact policy developments. Just as engineering R&D may be measured in terms of patents or improvements to products, so policy research may be measured through improvements to policy and policy thinking.

Examples of input into recent policy developments are cited here:

Commissioner: Clean Energy Superpower Advisory Commission, DESNZ (2024 ongoing)

Member of Strategic Advisory Group, Review of Electricity Market Arrangements (REMA), DESNZ (2024 ongoing)

Member of National Grid Electricity System Operator (NGESO) Markets Advisory Council (2022 ongoing)

Member of Academic Advisory Panel, Ofgem (2018 to date)

Advisory Group Chair, Committee on Climate change (2015, 2016)

Commissioner, Commission on Scotland's Energy Future (2013)

Specialist Advisor, Energy and Climate Change Select Committee reports on the Energy White Paper and Energy Bill (2011 and 2012).

Specialist Advisor to the House of Lords European Union Select Committee; feasibility of the EU 2020 targets for renewable energy (2008)

Policy reports/white papers citing my reports/papers include:

2019, Committee on Climate Change publishes a landmark report ‘Net Zero – The UK’s contribution to stopping global warming’. This report cites four of my outputs and publishes one of them alongside the main report as supporting analysis. ‘Bioenergy with carbon capture and storage, and direct air carbon capture and storage: Examining the evidence on deployment potential and costs in the UK’, is published alongside the report as well as featuring in the discussion of negative emissions technologies in the main report.

The Committee also refers to three of my other reports: ‘Accelerating innovation towards net zero emissions’, ‘UKERC response to the Cost of Energy Review’, and ‘Is EMR working? Are Britain’s electricity market arrangements fit for purpose or broken?’

2018 the National Audit Office report ‘Rolling out smart meters’ cites findings from (On demand: Can demand response live up to expectations in managing electricity systems?’ Energy Research & Social Science).

2018 Committee on Climate Change Progress Report to Parliament features findings from two of my reports in a two page box on electricity market design (Is EMR working? Are Britain’s electricity market arrangements fit for purpose or broken?) and UKERC response to the cost of energy review

During 2017/8 two reports are commissioned by BEIS (International Comparisons of Heating, Cooling and Heat Decarbonisation Policies) and (Realising the potential of demand-side response to 2025). These reports informed the clean growth strategy

2017 Working paper from the (Best practice in heat decarbonisation policy project) is published on the Committee on Climate Change website as supporting documentation to the Committee’s ‘Next Steps for UK Heat Policy’ report. The research also features in a prominent box-out in the main report

2016 (Innovation timelines from invention to maturity report) features in the National Infrastructure Commission’s report ‘The impact of technological change on future infrastructure supply and demand’

2016 Findings from the (Innovation timelines from invention to maturity report) submitted to the Energy and Climate Change Committee Energy revolution inquiry

2016 Findings from the (Innovation timelines from invention to maturity report) presented to the Energy and Climate Change Committee secretariat and Parliamentary Library services (the POST team)

2016 Findings from the (Innovation timelines from invention to maturity report) presented by DECC at a No 10 workshop exploring the implications for policy

2015 Evidence to the House of Lords Science and Technology Committee. Drawing upon: (Investment Decisions, The costs and impacts of intermittency, Great expectations: the cost of offshore wind in UK waters, Presenting the Future: An assessment of future costs estimation methodologies in the electricity generation sector)

2014 Appointed Chair of the Committee on Climate Change’s two steering groups overseeing work on cost reduction potential in the offshore power and CCS sectors. Drawing upon: (Great expectations: the cost of offshore wind in UK waters, Presenting the Future: An assessment of future costs estimation methodologies in the electricity generation sector)

Member of the Academic Advisory Committee to the Dept of Energy and Climate Change Energy Market Reform process (2012).

Committee on Climate Change report on bioenergy, 2012

Committee on Climate Change 1st progress report, 2009

BERR White Paper on Nuclear Power, 2008

Select Committee on Innovation, Universities, Science and Skills report 'renewable electricity generation technologies' 2008

Committee on Climate Change report 'building a low carbon economy', 2008

Contributed to the Committee on Environmental Markets and Economic Performance (CEMEP, 2007)

Contributed to the Stern Review's analysis of the cost of mitigation led by Prof Dennis Anderson OBE (2006)

Undertook analysis for the 2003 DTI Renewables Innovation Review

Contributed to scenario modelling for the 2003 Energy White Paper

Co-author of the Cabinet Office's 2002 Energy Review

Appointments

Director, UK Energy Research Centre (2020) and Professor of Energy Policy and Technology (2019)

Reader, Centre for Environmental Policy and Director, Centre for Energy Policy and Technology (ICEPT) (2014)

2010 - 2013 Senior Lecturer, Centre for Energy Policy and Technology

2006 - 2010 Lecturer, Centre for Energy Policy and Technology (ICEPT).

2003 to 2006: Research Fellow, Environmental Policy and Management Group and Centre for Energy Policy and Technology,

1998 to 2003: Research Associate, Environmental Policy and Management Group and Centre for Energy Policy and Technology

2001: UK Government Cabinet Office, Energy Review team and Resource Productivity team, Cabinet Office

Recent favourite publications:

Kozarcanin S, Hanna R, Staffell I, Gross R, Andresen GB.
Impact of climate change on the cost-optimal mix of decentralised heat pump and gas boiler technologies in Europe Energy Policy
140:1-13 Article number 111386 May 2020 (
Journal article)
Publisher URL
View here:
Spiral
Parrish B, Heptonstall P, Gross R, Sovacool BK.
A systematic review of motivations, enablers and barriers for consumer engagement with residential demand response Energy Policy
138:1-11 Article number 111221 Mar 2020 (
Journal article)
Publisher URL
View here:
Spiral
Gardiner D, Schmidt O, Heptonstall P, Gross R, Staffell I.
Quantifying the impact of policy on the investment case for residential electricity storage in the UK Journal of Energy Storage
27 Article number ARTN 101140 Feb 2020 (
Journal article)
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Spiral
Parrish B, Gross R, Heptonstall P.
On demand: Can demand response live up to expectations in managing electricity systems? ENERGY RESEARCH & SOCIAL SCIENCE
51:107-118 01 May 2019 (
Journal article)
View record in Web of Science
View here:
Spiral
Gross R, Hanna R.
Path dependency in provision of domestic heating NATURE ENERGY
4(5):358-364 01 May 2019 (
Journal article)
View record in Web of Science
View here:
Spiral