ITC 2018 Annual Lecture

Low carbon transport and our energy infrastructure: what does the future hold?

The 6th ITC Annual Lecture

19 June 2018, Science Museum, London

In June 2018 the ITC was delighted to welcome more than 120 supporters and eminent figures from across the transport, energy and land use worlds for our Sixth Annual Lecture. The ITC Lecture series, which was inaugurated in 2013, explores major strategic questions that will affect the future of transport and how we travel.

To open proceedings, the ITC was delighted to introduce Bernadette Kelly CB, the Permanent Secretary at the Department for Transport, to give an insightful welcome address. Ms Kelly expressed gratitude to the ITC and to the Science Museum for hosting the Lecture, and provided an overview of the low carbon challenges facing transport.

The first guest lecturer was Matthew Tipper, Vice-President of New Fuels at Royal Dutch Shell. Mr Tipper began by considering the low carbon challenges that face transport, and various new fuels that could be adopted to address these challenges. He explained that a low carbon future would not only rely on electric vehicles but also hydrogen fuel cell technology which was more suited for use with HGVs and heavy transport. He concluded by noting that these innovations would require significant investment in improving energy infrastructure.

The second guest Lecturer was Nicola Shaw CBE, the Executive Director of National Grid and a former ITC Commissioner. Ms Shaw began by explaining the pressures that would be placed upon the electricity grid by electric vehicles, and noted that these could be mitigated by changing behaviours so that charging did not happen always at the same time.  She noted that infrastructure innovations were required to provide sufficient recharging points, such as at service stations. She concluded on an optimistic note by pointing

A question and answer followed with the expert audience which was chaired by ITC Chairman Terry Hill CBE. The discussion covered a range of related topics, from the speed of progress towards electric vehicles to recharging possibilities.

The ITC would like to thank our corporate members whose support made the Lecture possible.