Contributed Article
By MG Pecorari, UK Director of Strategy and Wholesale at Vodafone UK
Turning the tide on carbon emissions requires a relentless approach to innovation and collaboration across multiple industries. Achieving Net Zero goals can feel like a major task but, by utilising tools like 5G Standalone (SA), we’re optimistic we can make tangible progress and get there.
We, as a business and more broadly as the UK tech and telco sector, have spoken a lot about 5G SA recently and its benefits. However, it’s important we also highlight the fully upgraded 5G network’s role in helping industrial operations run smoothly and, in turn, reducing their energy consumption and carbon emissions.
At Vodafone UK, we’re already working with customers in some of the UK’s biggest industries to help them adopt technology like IoT, drones, and remote monitoring systems to make their operations more energy efficient. But this technology can be taken to the next level on a 5G SA network.
That’s why we recently took a closer look at the transformative impact that 5G SA could have on two major areas of the UK’s net zero journey: firstly, on the production and distribution of clean energy in the renewable energy sector; secondly, on reducing carbon emissions in the food and drink supply chain, a large and carbon-intensive industry.
Accelerating the shift to Net Zero
The energy sector is experiencing a period of major change as the UK shifts its focus from traditional coal and gas power towards renewable energy at scale. We’re seeing pockets of the UK lead the charge when it comes to renewable energy, like offshore wind in the Northeast. But what could be achieved if we introduced 5G SA-enabled technologies into the wind industry?
Our research reveals that 5G remote maintenance drones could increase the energy capacity on UK wind farms by 8GWh by 2035, providing a much-needed solution for wind turbines that are often prone to failure. Over time, this could translate into an additional 27 TWh of energy output.
5G-enabled IoT solutions and machine learning can also optimise the angle of each wind turbine, which enables them to stand closer together in a process known as ‘wake steering’. More turbines mean more energy output, potentially leading to a 30–67% improvement in the wind farm’s capacity.
If these technologies were applied broadly across UK wind farms, it could generate enough additional clean energy to heat an extra 2.4 million homes by 2035 and reduce total CO2 emissions by 63 million tonnes – enough to heat every home in Scotland[1]. These are huge figures that demonstrate the critical role 5G SA can play in the UK energy sector.
There can also be benefits when distributing renewable energy to our homes with 5G smart grids, which use IoT to collect data in real time. This enables more effective monitoring of the grid with millisecond-level precision. UK Power Networks, for example, were faced with a challenge of integrating many new renewable energy providers into the grid, and needed a solution to increase efficiency, reduce costs, and shrink the carbon footprint of the energy supply chain. Our 5G network was used to develop Constellation, a smart substation prototype that uses 5G’s low latency for real time communication over a dedicated, highly secure slice of our 5G SA network so they can react quickly when there is a problem like a power surge.
Reducing carbon emissions from farm to fork
There’s also a huge opportunity in wide scale adoption of 5G SA to transform traditional industries that are naturally carbon intensive, such as agriculture, manufacturing, and logistics. If we can decarbonise these sectors, it makes reaching Net Zero feel much more achievable.
UK agriculture in particular has faced a number of challenges over the past few years, from supply chain disruption due to the pandemic, geopolitical challenges, and conflicts, to the cost-of-living crisis, which has driven up the cost of resources and tightened the consumer purse. However, 5G technologies, such as drones and sensors, bring opportunities in the face of adversity.
For example, 5G-connected drones and sensors can help farmers manage their crops and livestock more efficiently. By monitoring soil, fertiliser, feed, and water conditions they can help maximise yields and significantly reduce wastage produced on farms. We worked with Alltech Farming Solutions Limited, an Irish manufacturer of diet feeders for livestock, to utilise 5G-enabled IoT solutions. This network and enabled tech has helped farmers across Europe and beyond to measure, monitor, and manage feed efficiency. Their diet feeders automate the mixing and delivery of feed for livestock, with the machines connected to the cloud so farmers can analyse the data with speed and accuracy.
If 5G-connected technology was utilised at scale in the UK, by 2035, this reduction in food waste could correspond to a total saving of carbon emissions equivalent to 6% of the UK’s greenhouse gas emissions in 2022.
Why we need a faster 5G SA rollout
Technologies like IoT, cloud, and drones are already making a big impact in their infancy, and our research shows the huge potential they bring when it comes to addressing critical issues such as climate change. However, these technologies can’t reach their full potential without a nationwide 5G SA network.
Earlier this year we launched 5G Ultra, the UK’s first SA network, but this is limited to cities like London, Manchester, Glasgow, and Cardiff. Imagine the possibilities if this was rolled out up and down the UK so that every consumer and business could experience the benefits! That’s why our proposed merger with Three UK is so important.
Currently, the UK telco sector is underperforming, and as a country we risk falling behind others in Europe and globally in the widespread rollout of 5G. With Three UK, we would be able to invest in a best-in-class 5G SA network up and down the UK, at pace and at scale. As a combined business, we’ve pledged to invest £11 billion in the first 10 years and deliver 95% 5G SA geographic coverage by 2034. With a proper rollout of 5G SA, we can supercharge the UK’s digital future – reinvigorating the telco sector by driving competition, fuelling innovation, and accelerating energy efficiencies in crucial industries and, ultimately, the UK’s journey to Net Zero.
[1] This is a rough estimate using data from the Scottish Census, which states there were 2,372,777 households in Scotland in 2011.
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