The UK can enhance energy security through clean electrification

This report by Ember analyzes how clean electrification—the transition to low-carbon electricity for heating and transport—improves the UK's energy security by reducing reliance on fossil fuel imports and increasing overall energy efficiency.

• The UK's power sector has seen a significant increase in efficiency due to the shift from fossil fuels to wind and solar. The share of total input energy wasted fell from 60% in 2000 to 47% in 2023, meaning that by 2023, 1.9 units of energy were required to generate 1 unit of electricity, compared to 2.5 units in 2000.
• In 2023, the deployment of 1.5 million electric vehicles and 430,000 residential heat pumps, powered by nearly two-thirds clean electricity, reduced oil and gas consumption by 14 million barrels of oil equivalent. This reduction represents approximately 3.4% of the UK's annual net oil and gas imports.
• Electrified technologies are significantly more efficient than their fossil fuel counterparts. Electric cars convert 89% of chargepoint electricity into useful energy, whereas petrol combustion engines convert only 20%. Similarly, heat pumps can generate over three times more heat than a gas boiler for the same energy input.
• Clean electrification reduces fossil fuel demand more aggressively than it increases electricity demand. With the current clean power share, the reduction in fossil fuel consumption is four times greater than the additional power required. In 2023, electric vehicles and heat pumps added 6.3 TWh to power demand, or 2% of total UK electricity demand.
• The transition to clean electrification is forecast to increase electricity demand over time; by 2030, electric vehicles and heat pumps are expected to add 33 TWh of demand, which is 11% of the total 2023 demand. However, the National Electricity System Operator 'Holistic Transition' pathway predicts primary input fuel demand will fall by an average of 0.8% per year in the 2020s and 1.2% per year later in the 2030s.
• The report argues that the UK requires a holistic, economy-wide clean electrification strategy because current policies for clean power, transport electrification, and heat pump installation are handled separately. Such a strategy would focus on cutting imports beyond the 2030 clean power target and identifying domestic supply chain opportunities.

APA

Mayo, F., & Lee, U. (2024). The UK can enhance energy security through clean electrification. Ember. https://ember-energy.org/app/uploads/2024/10/The-UK-can-enhance-energy-security-through-clean-electrification.pdf

Chicago

Mayo, Frankie, and Uni Lee. The UK can enhance energy security through clean electrification. Ember, 2024. https://ember-energy.org/app/uploads/2024/10/The-UK-can-enhance-energy-security-through-clean-electrification.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Mayo |first1=Frankie |last2=Lee |first2=Uni |title=The UK can enhance energy security through clean electrification |publisher=Ember |date=21 October 2024 |url=https://ember-energy.org/app/uploads/2024/10/The-UK-can-enhance-energy-security-through-clean-electrification.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{mayo2024can, author = {Mayo, Frankie and Lee, Uni}, title = {{The UK can enhance energy security through clean electrification}}, institution = {Ember}, year = {2024}, month = oct, url = {https://ember-energy.org/app/uploads/2024/10/The-UK-can-enhance-energy-security-through-clean-electrification.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }