CREDS was a research centre established in 2018 with a vision to make the UK a leader in understanding the changes in energy demand needed for the transition to a secure and affordable, zero-carbon society. The Centre for Research into Energy Demand Solutions worked with researchers, businesses & policy makers to support the transition to a zero-carbon society.
CREDS was funded by UK Research and Innovation, which brings together nine Councils into a single organisation that aims to ensure the UK maintains its world-leading position in research and innovation. Their aim was to understand the role of energy demand change in accelerating the transition to a zero-carbon energy system, including the technical, social and governance challenges of demand reduction, flexible demand and use of decarbonised energy. Studies of incremental efficiency improvement and minor behavioural changes will not be sufficient; attention to more transformative change is needed.
This changing context for energy implies new research questions in the areas of technology, business models, social change and governance, and in their interaction. Our vision was for energy demand research in the UK to rise to this challenge. CREDS was composed by a team of more than 140 academics at 24 academic institutions across the UK. A core team, responsible for programme management, communications and knowledge exchange, was based at the University of Oxford. CREDS is now closed, but their research findings are still accessible to all.