New research from Cornwall Insight highlights that Great Britain (GB) has a significant opportunity to tap into a global energy flexibility market worth up to £750bn ($1tn)1, helping to lower energy bills for households and businesses while strengthening the resilience of the electricity grid.
The study, ‘I&C Flexibility Markets: Structure, Participation, and Size’ commissioned by Integrate to Zero, shows that Industrial and Commercial (I&C) flexibility – where large energy users like factories, hospitals and supermarkets temporarily adjust when they consume or generate power in response to pressures on the electricity system – offers one of the cheapest ways to keep the grid balanced. As GB relies more on intermittent renewables, increasing flexibility participation from industry will lower the need for expensive grid upgrades, battery storage and backup generation.
The National Energy Systems Operator (NESO) has called2 for British industry to support the growth of this demand side flexibility, stating that it was critical to our future energy system, yet uptake remains low.
Simple actions – such as factories running machines that use a lot of electricity at quieter times of the day or switching to backup generation during peak times – could make a big difference. Some leading British companies are already doing this, but the study shows barriers still persist:
- Costly processes: many industrial processes simply can’t be turned up or down without affecting output or safety, and the cost of adapting equipment remains a hurdle.
- Limited data and low awareness of the financial benefits.
- Access to multiple markets: The ‘stacking’ of flexibility provision across multiple different markets is often restricted or limited. This lowers revenue streams and limits participation.
Across international markets similar technical and regulatory issues are limiting the potential of I&C energy flexibility. Without clearer incentives, simpler market access and better information for industries, countries across the world risk missing out on one of the most cost‑effective tools available to support cleaner, more resilient energy systems.
Anna Moss, Principal Consultant at Cornwall Insight, “The global race to net zero requires us to think differently about our energy system, with our reliance on intermittent renewables growing we need to harness every possible avenue to deliver a balanced grid.
“Industrial and Commercial buildings can become mini power stations, storing and feeding energy back to the grid as part of Virtual Power Plants. The UK has world-leading companies already doing this, but we need policy frameworks that make it easier for businesses to participate.
“By harnessing the flexible resources already available within industrial and commercial businesses, Great Britain can cut the price of the energy transition. This built‑in flexibility offers a powerful and cost‑effective way to accelerate the shift to a renewables led system while maximising the value of existing industrial processes.”
Dan Hamza-Goodacre, Chief Energy Officer at Integrate to Zero, “As countries around the world electrify their economies and as data centres, air-conditioning and water desalination drive higher and higher electricity use, there is an immediate and critical need to ensure demand and supply balance in our grid systems. The report’s estimate of the size of the Industrial and commercial flexibility market, which could be as large as a $1trn, highlights both the global potential and why policy and other barriers must be rapidly reduced”.
Reference:
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The report estimates the global value of industrial and commercial (I&C) flexibility at $0.2–$1trn, based on the cost of meeting the same needs through alternative technologies
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NESO calls on industry support to deliver Flexibility – October 2025.
