Digital Twin Energy Grids

To lead a project your organisation must:

• be a UK registered business of any size
• be or involve at least one grant claiming micro, small or medium-sized enterprise (SME)
• collaborate with other UK registered organisations
• carry out its project in the UK and have an impact on the UK electricity network

To collaborate with the lead, your organisation must be one of the following UK registered:

• business of any size
• academic institution
• charity
• not for profit
• public sector organisation
• research and technology organisation (RTO)
• licensed energy company or regulator

A business can only lead on one application but can be included as a collaborator in two further applications.

All other organisations, and any business not leading an application, can collaborate on any number of applications.

Your project must:

• have a total grant funding request of between £100,000 and £300,000
• last between 6 months and 12 months
• carry out all of its project work in the UK
• intend to exploit the results from or in the UK
• start by 1 October 2024
• end by 30 September 2025

The aim of this competition is to improve the cyber resilience of the UK’s energy networks by enabling the development of digital twins.

We use this definition of a Digital Twin.

Your project must:

• enable, support or deliver digital twins in energy networks
• improve the cyber resilience of the energy networks
• improve access to high quality and interoperable data in energy networks
• engage with end users in its development

You can demonstrate testing in end user or real world conditions.

Your project can:

• enable the development of digital twins for energy networks
• improve cyber resilience of the systems, technologies, data and information in energy networks
• increase collaborations between SMEs, energy networks and researchers
• deliver products, services or solutions that could be commercialised
• help to deliver the goals of the UKRI Building a Secure and Resilient World programme (BSRW)

We encourage proposals with BSRW projects and related initiatives. Further details can be found in the supporting information section.

Applications are welcomed from SMEs who specialise in:

• cybersecurity
• data interoperability
• operational technologies
• analytics and digital twins

We encourage SMEs to apply from outside the energy sector

We encourage proposals that collaborate with Ofgem regulated companies involved in the distribution, storage, connection and transmission of energy, including those not eligible for SIF funding.

We also encourage you to align with:

• Innovate UK Net Zero Data Guidance
• Cyber Security Body of knowledge
• Digitalising our energy system for net zero
• Operational technology

Your project can create a Software Bill of Materials (SBOM).

Your project can focus on one or more of the following:

• developing digital twins and their underpinning technologies
• enabling future federated digital twins
• system modelling for data driven decision making
• improving data interoperability, sharing, quality and security
• securing operational and control room technologies
• cybersecurity threat detection, analysis and mitigation
• data driven technologies for grid stability, forecasting, balancing
• demand side response security such as Energy Smart Appliances
• data sharing licensing and legal considerations

We are not funding projects that:

• do not have an application for cyber resilience of the energy grids
• do not consider interoperability of data
• are only applicable on gas networks

Innovate UK Business Connect hosted an online briefing on Monday 15 April: click here to watch the recording.

Innovate UK will hold a further online briefing on Thursday 25 April at 10am: click here to register for a place.

If you would like help to find a project partner, contact Innovate UK Business Connect’s Energy team.