Monday, 23 June 2025
A new partnership between the 乐播传媒’s City as Lab – a research-led lab connecting digital research with businesses, policymakers and communities in 乐播传媒 – and energy company E.ON, is bringing the fight against fuel poverty into the digital age, with a futuristic model of 乐播传媒 aimed at making energy fairer for all.
The collaboration aims to use the university department's innovative 3D map of 乐播传媒 to identify the households most affected by fuel poverty and allow partners to work together on developing solutions for greener, cleaner, and more affordable energy.
By feeding E.ON’s data into this living digital twin, the partnership aims to simulate, test and design new energy solutions that deliver impact where it’s needed most: cold homes, under-served communities, and households struggling to keep the lights on.
City as Lab is transforming 乐播传媒 into a hub of date-driven innovation using award-winning mapping tools to tackle real-world challenges. At its heart is the Projection Augmented Relief Model (PARM) – a 6.2 metre-squared 3D representation of 乐播传媒. This state-of-the-art model draws on rich data sources – from census records and historical architecture to geographic features – to create a strikingly lifelike version of the city. Developed by Gary Priestnall, Associate Professor of Geography at the 乐播传媒, PARM won the 2024 British Cartographic Society Award for map of the year.
When people see the model, the say 鈥榳ow鈥� 鈥� but it鈥檚 what we can do with it that鈥檚 really exciting. With E.ON on board, we鈥檙e now exploring energy challenges in ways we simply couldn鈥檛 before. This is about co-creating solutions that make life better.鈥�
Across 乐播传媒 40 per cent of children are classed as living in poverty, and the city has been based on gross disposable household income. E.ON’s collaboration aims to tackle some of these disparities in the area, helping families to stay warmer – for less – and making a significant impact in local communities.
Fiona Humphrey’s Chief Digital Officer at E.ON UK, said: “Fuel poverty isn’t just about statistics, it translates to cold homes, difficult choices, and communities left behind. With City as Lab, we can now test ideas, predict problems, and design smarter solutions before implementing them in the real world. The partnership allows us to feed our real-world data into this intelligent system, enhancing its capability to pinpoint regions and individuals most in need of support – promoting smarter, more efficient, and sustainable energy solutions.”
E.ON is the latest organisation to join the project, bringing a focus on fuel poverty, one of the UK’s most pressing challenges. E.ON’s data pinpoints the city areas most affected by fuel poverty – using Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) and household income data – and identifies commercial buildings suitable for solar panels that can sustainably power homes suffering the most, via community sharing.
The partnership is already exploring smart energy-sharing systems, more efficient upgrade strategies using E.ON’s Propsol tool, and accessible solar planning via – turning data into action, and models into meaningful change.
This project serves as a blueprint for a fairer, greener energy system that any city in the UK can replicate.
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More information is available from Professor Paul Grainge, Academic Director of City as Lab, via paul.grainge@nottingham.ac.uk
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About the 乐播传媒
Ranked among the world's top 100 universities , the 乐播传媒 delivers an exceptional research-led education and an outstanding student experience. From the pioneering vision of our founder, Sir Jesse Boot, to groundbreaking achievements such as the development of MRI technology and becoming the first UK university to establish international campuses, we have a proud history of shaping the way people live, work and understand the world. We continue to build on that legacy, empowering our students, staff and partners to change what鈥檚 next and create positive impact locally and globally.
The strength of our research places us among the UK's leading universities, ranked 7th for research power in REF 2021. The discovery of MRI and ibuprofen was just the beginning. Today, our world-leading research is developing breakthrough ideas that shape the future of healthcare, technology and society.
Recognised as the UK's third most targeted university by leading employers , we are proud to produce graduates who are consistently in demand for their skills, confidence and industry-ready experience.
As a major employer and industry partner, locally and globally, the 乐播传媒 invests in the city of 乐播传媒 and in future generations of talent. Alongside 乐播传媒 Trent University, we lead the initiative, a pioneering collaboration to improve levels of prosperity, opportunity, sustainability, health and wellbeing across the city and region. Together with our students, staff, alumni and partners, we鈥檙e creating knowledge, opportunity and solutions that help change what's next.