Cycle six of the Ofgem Strategic Innovation Fund (SIF) includes the first projects starting to address some of the new SIF challenges: 2026 to 2033.
The projects address:
- faster infrastructure delivery
- consumer-led decarbonisation
- green gas
- system visibility
- flexible charging
- outage resilience
Industrial and business connection acceleration
Data-Integrated Systems for Power Transmission and Community Heat (DISPATCH), will work towards addressing challenge one: industrial and business connection acceleration.
Through using network capacity more efficiently, DISPATCH will investigate how data centres can be sited to provide low-temperature waste heat.
Sharing flexibility service income with heat networks aligns with the challenge one ambition for energisation of major strategic sites within six months by 2033.
Faster build and maintenance
Routing and Planning through Interoperable Data (RAPID) is supporting challenge two: faster build and maintenance.
Development of a shared transmission data interoperability framework will streamline routing, planning and consent.
The resulting reduction in duplication, delays and costs supports the challenge two ambition of delivering infrastructure 50% faster and 20% cheaper by 2035.
Instant use domestic energy devices
By creating a simpler, plug-and-play electric vehicle (EV) charging experience beyond the home, Roaming Meter Point Administration Numbers (MPANs) supports challenge three: instant use domestic energy devices.
By linking household electricity accounts securely to public chargers, Roaming MPANs will give drivers access to their home account, smart tariffs and rates.
This will support affordable and equitable charging in line with instant plug and play connections of domestic energy devices by 2032.
Eliminating energy outages
Security of Supply reflecting distributed generation (SOS Racer), will assess how distributed demand-side flexibility can:
- strengthen electricity security of supply
- inform future resilience, planning and market frameworks
By supporting flexible network operation and reducing the likelihood and impact of outages, SOS Racer will contribute to challenge four: eliminating energy outages.
Challenge four ambition aims to achieve near-zero interruptions through autonomous reconfiguration and islanding by 2038.
Innovation Delivery Groups
Each challenge will be supported by an Innovation Delivery Group (IDG), made up of representatives from energy networks, decision-makers and subject-matter experts from across the sector and beyond.
IDGs are responsible for delivery of the challenge outcomes, they will oversee and coordinate challenge specific portfolios of SIF projects.
Innovation Charters
In cycle six, each IDG has received discovery phase funding to develop their own innovation charter.
These challenge specific innovation charters will be published in January 2027 to provide a strategic roadmap that will:
- map current innovation activity
- identify gaps and barriers
- set out potential pathways to meet the innovation challenges
- plan how work should be prioritised and sequenced
- address how progress will be tracked through refined key performance indicators and outcome measures
Strategic, long-term focus
Through these innovation charters, the IDGs will approach innovation as a coordinated programme rather than a collection of separate projects.
This strategic, long-term focus will turn ideas into action and delivery of measurable benefits for consumers, our climate and Britain’s wider economy.
More detail on all the projects funded in cycle six, including lead and partner organisations and funding amounts, are in further information below.
For further information see:
Backing ambitious, practical ideas
Jodie Giles, Deputy Director Ofgem Strategic Innovation Fund at Innovate UK said:
This £16.2 million investment backs ambitious, practical ideas that will tackle the energy systems biggest challenges – from faster build and maintenance of networks to simpler EV charging and near zero outages.
The SIF is leading the way on moving from bright ideas to real-world impact. We identify and target the biggest system challenges, involve the right people, collaborate early, and provide dedicated support to move proven innovations into operational deployment.
In this round we aren’t just funding projects, but a new operating model that is changing the culture of energy network innovation.
Innovation Delivery Groups will develop the Innovation Charters funded in this cycle to provide a clear pathway for future SIF applications.
Facilitating greater collaboration and knowledge sharing for each challenge, and crucially, maintaining focus on delivery of impact.
Shared goals, clearer pathways
Marzia Zafar, Deputy Director of Digitalisation and Innovation at Ofgem said:
Through the Strategic Innovation Fund, Ofgem is helping the energy sector tackle the biggest challenges facing Britain’s energy system, from connecting major new industrial sites more quickly and speeding up network delivery, to improving resilience and making it easier for consumers to benefit from new technologies.
The projects funded in this cycle are the first to be delivered against our new long-term Innovation Challenges, helping focus innovation on the outcomes that matter most for consumers, industry and the wider economy.
This cycle also marks the start of a more coordinated approach to innovation through the new Innovation Delivery Groups and Innovation Charters.
By bringing networks, innovators and experts together around shared goals, we’re creating a clearer pathway from ideas to real-world deployment, helping deliver a cleaner, more reliable and affordable energy system while supporting economic growth across Great Britain.
Further information
Ofgem SIF: cycle six beta, summary of projects approved
Round four, challenge four: accelerating towards net zero energy network
DEsign for Live Line Technology Acceleration (DELLTA)
DELLTA explores live working techniques for existing and new high voltage assets, enabling maintenance of reliable and resilient networks without outages, avoiding operational disruption and constraint costs.
SIF funding award: £4,947,031
Project partners:
- National Grid Electricity Transmission (lead)
- The University of Manchester
- University of Liverpool
- Fraser-Nash Consultancy
- Scottish Hydro Electric Transmission
- Allied Insulators
- Budapest University of Technology and Economics
Round five, challenge four: consumer centric grid solutions
Net Zero Terrace
Net Zero Terrace will showcase a novel solution to decarbonising six million terraced homes.
This will enable communities to replicate the approach, ensuring no-one is left behind in the net zero transition.
SIF funding award: £7,188,365
Project partners:
- Electricity North West (lead)
- Northern Powergrid (Northeast)
- Buro Happold
- UK Power Networks (Operations)
- Centre For Energy Equality
- Looped Energy Communities
- Greater Manchester Combined Authority
Ofgem SIF: cycle six alpha, summary of projects approved
Round five, challenge four: consumer centric grid solutions
Grounds for Change
Grounds for Change addresses the critical challenge of scaling low voltage service replacement upgrades to meet Great Britain’s decarbonisation targets without causing widespread consumer disruption.
SIF funding award: £622,691
Project partners:
- Scottish Hydro Electric Power Distribution (lead)
- Energy Innovation Centre
- Southampton City Council
Round five, challenge five: enhanced system visibility and control
Quantum optimisation for future gas network design
Quantum optimisation will develop a quantum-inspired optimisation approach to improve outage planning in gas transmission networks.
It addresses current limitations in exploring complex planning scenarios by enabling systematic evaluation of a much larger number of options.
SIF funding award: £616,558
Project partners:
- National Gas Transmission (lead)
- PA Consulting Services
- National Grid Electricity Transmission
- Scottish Hydro Electric Transmission
Round five, challenge six: green gas
Green Gas Access
Green Gas Access aims to unlock more low-carbon biomethane for use in Great Britain’s gas networks by improving how networks understand, plan for, and manage green gas supplies.
SIF funding award: £594,862
Project partners:
- Southern Gas Networks (lead)
- Cadent Gas
- DNV Services UK
- Grissan Engineering & Technical Services
Strategic Innovation Fund challenge 2: faster build and maintenance
Routing and Planning through Interoperable Data (RAPID)
RAPID will develop a shared transmission data interoperability framework to streamline planning and consenting processes.
This will:
- enable future digital and AI enabled solutions
- accelerate network infrastructure delivery
- support Clean Power 2030
SIF funding award: £453,988
Project partners:
- Scottish Hydro Electric Transmission (lead)
- Ove Arup & Partners
- National Grid Electricity Transmission
- NESO
- SP Transmission
Ofgem SIF: cycle six discovery, summary of projects approved
Round five, challenge four: consumer centric grid solutions
Bradford Flexible Industrial Infrastructure Transition (BFIIT)
The consumer-centric, multi-vector energy planning solution, BFIIT reduces network costs, improves flexibility and enables fair, scalable decarbonisation in dispersed urban clusters (manufacturers and public-sector heat users).
SIF funding award: £198,237
Project partners:
- Norther Powergrid (Northeast) (lead)
- Northern Gas Networks
- Centre for Energy Equality
- City of Bradford Metropolitan District Council
- Bradford Manufacturing Futures
- West Yorkshire Combined Authority
- Bradford Energy
Round five, challenge five: enhanced system visibility and control
Quantum Inspired Power System (QUIPS)
QUIPS uses quantum-inspired computing to improve power system modelling and optimisation, enabling faster decisions and unlocking capacity within existing electricity networks.
SIF funding award: £134,889
Project partners:
- Scottish Hydro Electric Power Distribution (lead)
- University of Strathclyde
Strategic Innovation Fund challenge 1: industrial and business connection acceleration
DISPATCH
DISPATCH investigates how data centres can be sited to provide low-temperature waste heat and share flexibility service income with heat networks.
This will benefit customers with vulnerabilities while also enabling faster connection.
SIF funding award: £181,366
Project partners:
- National Grid Electricity Distribution (lead)
- EA Technology
- Centre For Energy Equality
Strategic Innovation Fund challenge 3: instant use domestic energy devices
Roaming MPANs
Roaming MPANs proposes a new model to enable cost-effective and equitable EV charging.
By securely linking home accounts to local public chargers, drivers could pay the same rates, access smart tariffs, and charge as if at home.
SIF funding award: £166,092
Project partners:
- Southern Electric Power Distribution (lead)
- EDF Energy R&D UK Centre
- Cenex (Centre of Excellence for Low Carbon and Fuel Cell Technologies)
- Smart DCC
- Charge My Street
Strategic Innovation Fund challenge 4: eliminating energy outages
Security of Supply reflecting distributed generation (SOS Racer)
SOS Racer will assess how distributed demand-side flexibility can strengthen electricity security of supply and inform future resilience, planning and market frameworks.
SIF funding award: £167,822
Project partners:
- National Grid Electricity Distribution (lead)
- The Association for Decentralised Energy
- Cornwall Insight
IDG charter discovery project
Innovation challenge 1 innovation charter
This project will develop an innovation charter to address one of the biggest challenges facing energy networks: how to connect new industrial and commercial customers, within six months by 2033.
SIF funding award: £199,412
Project lead:
- Southern Electric Power Distribution
Innovation challenge 2 innovation charter
This project will develop an Innovation charter for challenge 2, identifying barriers and priority innovations to deliver 50% faster, 20% lower-cost network delivery by 2035 through evidence, stakeholder engagement, and sector coordination.
SIF funding award: £200,000
Project lead:
- Scottish Hydro Electric Transmission
Innovation challenge 3 innovation charter
This IDG is developing an innovation charter to guide delivery of innovation challenge 3: instant use domestic energy devices.
The innovation charter will set out a strategic framework for enabling instant, plug-and-play connections of domestic energy devices and appliances by 2032.
SIF funding award: £200,00
Project partners:
- UK Power Networks (Operations) (lead)
- Energy Systems Catapult
- SP Manweb
Innovation challenge 4 innovation charter
This discovery phase SIF project will develop the innovation charter for Energy Network Innovation Taskforce (ENIT) challenge 4: eliminating energy outages.
This innovation charter will lead to near-zero interruptions via autonomous reconfiguring and islanding of any section of the network by 2038.
SIF funding award: £200,000
Project partners:
- NESO
- Ove Arup & Partners
- SP Transmission
Innovation challenge 5 innovation charter
This Discovery phase SIF project relates to setting up the IDG for the Energy Network Innovation Taskforce (ENIT) challenge 5: decentralised system balancing.
This will deliver products and services to prove the viability of autonomous local balancing and optimisation of networks at every level by 2034.
SIF funding award: £199,861
Project partners:
- National Grid Electricity Distribution (lead)
- Regen SW
- NESO
- DR Energy Futures