Deep tech opportunities to combat a hotter, stormier 2040
What happens when the grid is pushed beyond the conditions it was designed for?
As climate change shifts from future concern to present reality, the question is becoming increasingly urgent. Around the world, rising temperatures and more frequent extreme weather events are placing critical infrastructure under increasing strain. For power networks, resilience is becoming one of the defining challenges in the age of AI.
By 2040, climate projections from the UK Met Office point to more frequent heatwaves and severe storms. At the same time, the field workforce is shrinking as a wave of retirements among experienced engineers outpaces the number of younger workers entering the sector, a gap that new training pipelines are not expected to fully close. A smaller field workforce will need to monitor larger networks and respond more quickly when disruptions occur. The result is a widening gap between the conditions the grid must withstand and the visibility, reach and responsiveness available.
Closing that gap is not simply about strengthening infrastructure. It is an opportunity to develop new capabilities that improve resilience, create differentiated advantage and generate compounding value over time as networks become smarter, more adaptive and more efficient.
Drawing on our experience developing new-to-the-world technologies for complex engineering challenges, CC experts have identified four innovation opportunities that could help network operators build a more resilient, climate-ready grid… while creating long-term competitive advantage.
Storm recovery robots for rapid assessment
The challenge |
As the network becomes more distributed, storm damage becomes harder to see and slower to fix. A single severe event can leave hundreds of sites damaged across a wider geographic area. At the same time, crew numbers are falling. Engineers are sent out to search for faults, often into terrain made dangerous by the storm itself. Assessment, not repair, eats the available time. |
Why it matters |
Restoration speed after a storm is one of the clearest measures of network resilience for regulators, customers and climate planners alike. Looking ahead to 2040, the UK Climate Projections 2018 (UKCP18) suggest more frequent severe weather events, increasing the pressure to assess damage and restore power faster, without relying on additional field crews. |
The tech stack |
Autonomous drones and ground robots equipped with LiDAR, thermal imaging and computer vision can conduct the first assessment after a storm. By comparing live scans against a pre-storm baseline, they can identify and classify damage automatically, helping determine what action is needed, allowing human engineers to focus on the recovery efforts faster than a manual inspection.. A mesh communications network keeps the fleet connected, even where fixed infrastructure has failed. Findings are relayed to a central platform that prioritises faults by criticality and creates a live map of the restoration.
Sensing and perceptionLiDAR, thermal and RGB cameras feed a computer vision model that classifies faults against a pre-storm baseline. Autonomy and navigationGround robots use SLAM to move through debris without GPS. Drones combine GPS and visual inertial odometry with geofencing. Comms backboneA mesh network allows drones relay data to ground robots and a mobile command point when fixed comms are down. Data and orchestrationFindings feed a central platform that triages faults by criticality and updates a live restoration map. |
Cooled hardware withstanding extreme heat
The challenge |
Much of the network’s existing hardware, including transformers and switchgear, was never designed for the temperatures that future heatwaves may bring. Heat above design threshold degrades performance and gradually erodes usable capacity, just as demand rises due to increased cooling loads elsewhere on the system. Replacing this hardware at scale is neither practical nor affordable within a useful timeline. |
Why it matters |
The assets that will struggle under 2040 heat conditions are already in the ground. Reinforcement or premature replacement undertaken reactively once assets begin to fail is expensive, disruptive and difficult to predict – both in cost and timing. A retrofit approach turns the response from an unplanned emergency cost into a planned, scheduled investment. |
The tech stack |
Radiative cooling coatings reflect incoming solar radiation and continuously release heat as infrared energy without using power. They are best suited to exposed casings such as transformers. Phase-change material inserts absorb heat during short thermal spikes inside enclosed cabinets, then release it as conditions cool. While passive measures alone cannot keep an asset within its design envelope (typically the most heat-exposed or already-marginal sites), active cooling adds a second tier of protection. Small-footprint forced-air or thermoelectric units, triggered by onboard sensors, can draw modest power to actively remove heat during peak thermal events rather than simply reflecting or buffering it. All three approaches can be installed during standard maintenance windows, avoiding the need to take assets out of service. Digital thermal modelling against UKCP18 2040 scenarios used beforehand can identify which assets need which tier of intervention and which need none at all.
Core mechanismRadiative coatings reflect solar radiation and emit heat as infrared, cooling the asset continuously without power. Material optionsPhase-change inserts buffer short thermal spikes in enclosed cabinets. High-emissivity coatings shed heat on exposed casings. Active coolingSensor-triggered forced-air or thermoelectric units supplement passive measures at the most heat-exposed or marginal sites, drawing power only during peak thermal events. Retrofit applicationMaterials are sprayed, laminated, or fitted as inserts during scheduled maintenance, without taking assets out of service. Thermal modellingDigital simulation tests asset behaviour under UKCP18 2040 scenarios to identify which assets benefit most, and by how much. |
A cooled, connected workforce
The challenge |
As the field workforce shrinks, so does the number of safe working hours available to it. Rising temperatures shorten the window in which outdoor work can be carried out safely. Meanwhile, the same engineers are being asked to cover a larger, more distributed network in less time, with fewer colleagues to support them. |
Why it matters |
A network is only as resilient as the people able to work on it. As summers intensify, heat stress, fatigue-related errors and safety incidents all rise together. Duty-of-care liability rises with them. Protecting field capacity is not simply a wellbeing measure. It directly determines how much restoration and maintenance work the network can safely deliver each year. |
The tech stack |
Wearable sensors can track core temperature, heart rate and fall risk. They process data on the device, with alerts triggering in less than a second without depending on network coverage. Where the wearable detects rising heat stress, a linked cooling vest responds automatically, using phase-change or evaporative cooling. The same architecture can also trigger heating in cold conditions. This is temperature-responsive PPE that protects from extreme temperatures, keeping the workforce safer and functioning for longer. Engineers are further supported by physical AI, able to provide additional sensing capabilities (visual inspections, environmental monitoring to flag hazards) as well as assist with auxiliary tasks such as carrying tools and spare parts, allowing engineers to focus on the job at hand and reducing time spent in potentially dangerous and difficult conditions.
Wearable sensingA wrist or chest-worn device tracks core temperature, heart rate, and fall risk, processed on-device in less than a second. Cooling and warming responseRising heat stress triggers a linked cooling vest, phase-change or evaporative, or a warming layer in cold conditions. Comms and integrationLow-latency links tie the wearable, and cooling shirts together so that engineers can see and react to heat exposure across a shift. Physical AI supportQuadruped or humanoid robots carry tools, spare parts, and test equipment to the worksite, following autonomously so humans can focus on the task rather than the load. Situational sensingOnboard cameras and environmental sensors feed hazard and visual data back to the control room, flagging risks before an engineer approaches to support remote verification. |
Multi-altitude sensing of real-time hazards
The challenge |
No single sensor or network can currently capture a full, real-time picture of a fast-moving wildfire or flood as it develops. Ground sensors, satellites, drones and human observation each capture part of the picture, but none can provide it alone. Bringing these different sources together quickly enough to act remains a critical unsolved problem. As the frequency of fire and flood rises, this fragmented live view slows both automated and human intervention in scenarios where every moment affects the extent of damage. |
Why it matters |
Costs and losses from wildfire and storm events are rising, and the absence of a single, trusted source of truth compounds that cost. It slows recovery, undermines confident decision-making and leaves network operators, emergency services and local authorities working from different, incomplete pictures of the same event. |
The tech stack |
A layered-sensing network combines fixed ground sensors and cameras, high-altitude platform stations (HAPS) for persistent wide-area coverage, alongside LEO and GEO satellites providing broader, less frequent confirmation. Drones can then be deployed reactively for close-range thermal and multispectral imaging once an event is detected. A central data layer fuses all these sources together with human-context signals, such as social media activity, into one continuously updated regional picture. Detections can then automatically trigger response assets, reducing the need to wait for manual confirmation at every step.
Ground layerFixed ground sensors and cameras provide continuous, high-confidence local monitoring at known-risk sites. High-altitude platforms (HAPS)Stratospheric platforms provide persistent, wide-area coverage, requiring genuinely low-power payload design. Satellite layer (LEO & GEO)LEO satellites offer frequent revisits and fine resolution. GEO satellites offer continuous, wider-area coverage. DronesDeployed reactively for close-range, high-resolution thermal and multispectral imaging exactly where it’s needed. |
Building resilience into what comes next
These four opportunities represent different business opportunities that will be required to meet the demands of the next decade. Some can be trialled within existing maintenance cycles, others require new platforms and partnerships to bring to life. What they share is a deep tech mindset, considering resilience as a source of lasting competitive advantage. Network operators that start building these capabilities now will be better placed to adapt as conditions change – and better placed to lead as the sector redefines what a climate-ready grid looks like.
Forging a new era for the industrial world
For leaders in energy, space, telecoms and transportation – this report cuts through the noise so you can navigate the big decisions, make the bold bets and turn your ambition into reward.
Get in touch
To explore how these opportunities could apply to your business, or to discuss a specific challenge you’re facing, do please get in touch with our team.
Kieran Reynolds
Energy & Industrial Business Unit Lead
Niall Mottram
VP of Energy & CDR
David Pugh
VP Sustainable Innovation
