£84 million of SIF funding to accelerate race to net zero

Ofgem has approved 12 round two beta projects, awarding £84 million through the Strategic Innovation Fund (SIF) delivered in partnership with Innovate UK.

Delivery of net zero by 2030

The projects have been awarded beta funding to further develop ideas and innovations in the latest tranche of funding awards from the Office of Gas and Electricity Markets (Ofgem) and Innovate UK’s SIF.

As well as delivering financial, environmental and societal benefits for Great Britain’s energy consumers, these projects also support government efforts to make Britain a clean energy superpower.

Innovation at scale

The projects will play an integral part in accelerating the delivery of net zero by 2030 and fit key themes of:

  • supporting a just energy transition
  • accelerating decarbonisation
  • preparing for net zero
  • improving energy system resilience

Beta projects allow for the testing of innovation at a scale that can support future commercialisation and integration into the UK energy networks. They typically follow earlier feasibility and proof-of-concept work delivered through discovery and alpha phases.

Taking ideas to the next level

Marzia Zafar, Deputy Director of Digitalisation and Innovation at Ofgem, said:

The Strategic Innovation Fund’s latest round of £84 million funding underscores Ofgem’s unwavering commitment to revolutionise the energy system.

As the race to hit net zero accelerates, we are empowering the ecosystem to develop bold, transformational projects that can prove their viability and offer significant benefits for the GB billpayer.

From addressing issues of resilience and affordability for billpayers, to harnessing the potential of homegrown renewable power and flexible energy use. We are delighted to take these ideas to the next level.

Addressing the challenges

The SIF works with industry and other stakeholders to identify the challenges faced by energy networks in the transition to net zero. To ensure the challenges keep pace with the changing energy ecosystem, they are reviewed annually.

These projects are addressing the SIF round two innovation challenges.

Smart Heat and Intelligent Energy in Low-income Districts (SHIELD)

The SHIELD project is:

  • addressing how we support a just energy transition
  • exploring ways for low-income households to benefit from low carbon technology
  • balancing supply and demand to help reduce both the upfront and running costs of consumers’ heating and energy

Flexible railway energy hubs project

Addressing how we accelerate decarbonisation of major energy demands, the flexible railway energy hubs project will accelerate the decarbonisation of the single largest electricity consumer, Network Rail.

Powering Wales renewably

The powering Wales renewably project is:

  • preparing for a net zero power system
  • uniting Welsh Government, whole energy system users and network operators to identify the priorities required to fast track the delivery of the Welsh Government’s decarbonisation plans

Multi resilience

The multi resilience project is looking at:

  • improving system resilience and robustness
  • coordinated solutions for cost effective resilient services that maintain customer supply during unplanned grid outages, particularly in rural locations that have a heightened risk of outage

Transforming our energy system

Jodie Giles, Deputy Director of the Ofgem Strategic Innovation Fund at Innovate UK, said:

We are excited to see these projects move on to test their innovation ideas in the real world. Delivery of these demonstration projects is how we learn about what actually works in reality, and how we will harness the massive opportunities the transitions to net zero presents.

Climate change is urgent, and these projects will help us stay on track for delivery of net zero, keeping bills as low as possible for consumers and reducing carbon emissions in the years ahead.

Congratulations to the 12 projects that have been successful in this round of Beta, where we started out with 53 feasibility studies at Discovery. I am looking forward to seeing the leadership of these projects transform our energy system, which underpins a prosperous and resilient society.

Further information

Challenge area: supporting a just transition

Smart Heat and Intelligent Energy in Low-income Districts (SHIELD)

Lead network type: electricity

Funding award: £5,401,332

SHIELD is a bold new initiative aimed at making the net zero transition accessible to low-income residents of social housing and other tenures who cannot afford low carbon technologies.

Project partners:

  • UK Power Networks (lead)
  • Power Circle Projects
  • Eastlight Community Homes
  • Electricity North West
  • Essex County Council
  • Thermify
  • UK Community Works
  • UrbanChain
  • Citizens Advice Essex
  • Essex Community Energy

Challenge area: accelerating decarbonisation of major energy demands

Flexible railway energy hubs

Lead network type: electricity

Funding award: £8,256,616

The flexible railway energy hubs will demonstrate a transformative approach to accelerate the decarbonisation of the single largest electricity consumer, Network Rail.

Project partners:

  • SP Energy Transmission (lead)
  • Network Rail
  • University of Leeds
  • Ricardo AEA Limited
  • GE Energy Power Conversion UK Ltd

Heatropolis

Lead network type: electricity

Funding award: £9,743,620

Heatropolis is developing a groundbreaking technical and commercial framework. This involves unlocking better outcomes between heat and electricity networks using data to maximise the use of electricity network capacity, so that heat networks can be decarbonised faster.

Project partners:

  • UK Power Networks (lead)
  • Passiv UK
  • Metropolitan
  • Guidehouse

Planning Regional Infrastructure in a Digital Environment (PRIDE)

Lead network type: electricity

Funding award: £3,733,400

PRIDE is using a digital tool to model changes to electricity, heat, gas, transport, digital and water infrastructure, to inform decisions on investing in decarbonisation.

Project partners:

  • National Grid Electricity Distribution (lead)
  • Advanced Infrastructure Technology Limited
  • West Midlands Combined Authority
  • Regen
  • National Grid Electricity System Operator

Challenge area: preparing for a net zero power system

Powering Wales renewably

Lead network type: electricity

Funding award: £10,353,633

Powering Wales renewably involves network companies and local government collaborating to accelerate low-carbon energy in Wales, taking a whole electricity system approach.

Project partners:

  • National Grid Electricity Systems Operator (lead)
  • CGI
  • National Grid Electricity Distribution
  • National Grid Electricity Transmission
  • SP Energy
  • Cenin Renewables
  • Wales and West Utilities
  • National Gas Transmission
  • Welsh Government

SIF blade black start demonstrator from offshore wind

Lead network type: electricity

Funding award: £ 4,850,905

SIF blade black start demonstrator from offshore wind is investigating how new technology can enable wind farms to restore the grid following a blackout, instead of fossil fuel generators.

Project partners:

  • SP Energy Transmission (Lead)
  • Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks (SSEN) Transmission
  • National HVDC Centre
  • University of Strathclyde
  • The Northern Energy Initiative (TNEI)
  • Carbon Trust

Challenge area: improving energy system resilience and robustness

CReDo+ Climate Resilience Demonstrator (extension to new climate risks)

Lead network type: electricity

Funding award: £9,806,929

CReDo is developing tools to help predict likely risks to energy networks from extreme weather events.

Project partners:

  • UK Power Networks (lead)
  • Connected Places Catapult
  • Computational Modelling Cambridge
  • Science and Technology Facilities Council
  • Cadent Gas
  • National Gas
  • SP Manweb
  • National Grid Electricity Systems Operator
  • University of Edinburgh

D-suite

Lead network type: electricity

Funding award: £ 8,065, 746

D-suite is exploring how power electronics devices can help monitor and manage low-voltage distribution networks, in the face of growing demand for renewable electricity.

Project partners:

  • SP Energy (lead)
  • Newcastle University
  • Integrated Energy
  • Cardiff University
  • UK Power Networks

Multi resilience

Lead network type: electricity

Funding award: £6,255,384

Multi resilience is working on coordinated solutions for cost effective resilient services that maintain customer supply during unplanned grid outages, particularly in rural locations that have a heightened risk of outage.

Project partners:

  • Northern Powergrid (lead)
  • Scottish Hydro Electric Power Distribution
  • Smarter Grid Solutions
  • TNEI

NextGen electrolysis: wastewater to green hydrogen

Lead network type: gas

Funding award: £5,866,292

NextGen electrolysis aims to reduce the cost of producing hydrogen, by using wastewater rather than high-purity water for the electrolysis process.

Project partners:

  • Wales and West Utilities (lead)
  • HydroStar Europe
  • National Grid Electricity Distribution
  • Welsh Water
  • Yeo Valley

Phased switch system

Lead network type: electricity

Funding award: £3,123,350

Phased switch system is reducing the load on our energy system to improve capacity, lower carbon dioxide emissions and reduce the likelihood of customer voltage issues preventing participation in flexibility services.

The project is also working on further developing an existing prototype to market readiness.

Project partners:

  • National Grid Electricity Distribution (lead)
  • Low Carbon Electric
  • Power Networks Demonstration Centre
  • UK Power Networks
  • Nortech

SF6 whole life strategy

Lead network type: electricity

Funding award: £8,500,724

The SF6 whole life strategy project is exploring ways to end the use of sulphur hexafluoride, a potent greenhouse gas in electrical systems.

Project partners:

  • National Grid Electricity Transmission (lead)
  • DNV
  • The University of Manchester
  • Scottish Hydro Electrical Transmission
  • SP Transmission
  • DILO
  • WIKA

Ofgem

Ofgem is Britain’s independent energy regulator. Its role is to protect consumers now and in the future by working to deliver a greener, fairer energy system.

It does this by:

  • working with government, industry, and consumer groups to deliver a net zero economy at the lowest cost to consumers
  • stamping out sharp and bad practice, ensuring fair treatment for all consumers, especially the vulnerable
  • enabling competition and innovation, which drives down prices and results in new products and services for consumers

Top image:  Credit: ZeynepKaya, E+ via Getty Images

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