THE ETI Journey - Review of Learnings 2007-2018

The ETI was created in 2007 with the mission to accelerate the development, demonstration and eventual commercial deployment of a focused portfolio of energy technologies, which will increase energy efficiency, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and help achieve energy and climate change goals.

The ETI operating model was untested in the UK previously – a ten-year public-private partnership (PPP) focused on delivering energy sector innovation in the Technology Readiness Levels of 3-6 (sometimes referred to as the “valley of death”). As the ETI approaches the end of its operational life, it is appropriate to capture the learnings not just from the technical output of the ETI but from how the organisation has operated over the last decade.

This review has therefore been undertaken to identify learnings that future innovation delivery bodies in the UK may wish to take note of. It is not intended to assess whether the ETI as a concept was good or not, and it needs to be understood that it is focused on the organisation as a whole and not on the actions of individuals.

The report is written by ETI employees and is based upon interviews with past and present staff together with stakeholder interviews and analysis undertaken by The School of Business and Economics at Loughborough University.

The review highlights a series of recommendation themes that cover:

• The establishment of a new energy related innovation organisation

• The successful operation of an organisation that delivers innovation

• How to maximise the legacy and learnings from the ETI’s experience

It is important that this piece of work should be viewed in the context of what we learnt from the operation of the ETI and not the outputs of the organisation. Aspects of the ETI experience and learnings have already informed the establishment and growth of the Energy Systems Catapult as well as informing the operating model for the Oil and Gas Climate Initiative, a voluntary CEO-led initiative of ten major oil and gas companies who aim to lead their industry’s response to climate change through a billion-dollar investment vehicle.