Ofgem Strategic Innovation Fund Round 4 Discovery - September 2024

Organisations can apply for a share of up to £30m for collaborative projects to improve the UK energy network.

Opportunity Details

When

Registration Opens

23/09/2024

Registration Closes

23/10/2024

Award

Your Discovery Phase Project must have a total requested funding of no more than £150,000, exclusive of VAT. Partners must provide a minimum of 10% of total Project costs as a compulsory contribution from alternative funds.

Organisation

Ofgem SIF

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Find out more and apply

This competition is delivered in partnership with the Office of Gas and Electricity Markets (Ofgem). It is funded by the Ofgem Strategic Innovation Fund, which aims to deliver net zero at lowest cost to consumers and support innovative businesses to grow and scale.

There are four challenges in this Discovery Phase:

  • Challenge 1: Faster energy network development
  • Challenge 2: Greater heat flexibility
  • Challenge 3: Embedding resilience in the energy network
  • Challenge 4: Accelerating towards net zero energy networks

This competition is open to collaborative applications only. Projects must be led by an Ofgem licensed network or operator, but idea originators can contact Ofgem or Innovate UK Business Connect in order to be connected with an Ofgem licensee who can collaborate with them to make a full application in this round or future rounds. These ideas can come from anyone, including start-ups, SMEs, suppliers, academics, independent researchers and disruptors.

You are encouraged to consider all areas of your Project from the initial Discovery Phase, which is the first of three phases, through to commercialisation following Alpha and Beta. (Alpha stage has fewer projects, which will be proof of concept, lasting up to 6 months, up to £500k per project; Beta has a few larger projects, which will be real world demonstrator developments lasting up to 5 years, with multi million pound funding.)

Future rounds will be open in 2025, with closing dates at the end of February and the end of June.

  • To lead a Discovery Phase Project you must be an Ofgem licensed electricity or gas distribution network, transmission operator, or Electricity System Operator (ESO).

    You are encouraged to have other Project Partners in addition to the mandatory requirements listed above. Your Project Partners can include a variety of third-party innovators such as:

    • start-ups
    • SMEs
    • suppliers
    • academics
    • independent researchers
    • disruptors
    • other licenced energy network companies

    If you are one of the above potential project partners and would like to find an energy network to partner with, please see more details of the programme here and contact the Ofgem SIF team here.

    Some of the Round 4 Challenges have specific project partner requirements in addition to the lead network licensee.

    Challenge 1: Faster network development: for Theme 2, you must partner with organisations with proven experience in developing and trialling regional energy models.

    Challenge 3: Embedding resilience partner requirements: for theme 1, you must involve a consumer representative group relevant to rural energy development.

    For other challenges/themes, there are no specific partner requirements.

    Ofgem are looking for proposals that involve all the necessary stakeholders relevant to the proposed innovation. We particularly encourage Projects working with suitable SME technology developers and growth companies.

  • Your Project must:

    • have total eligible Strategic Innovation Fund (SIF) requested funding of no more than £150,000, exclusive of VAT
    • provide a minimum of 10% of total Project costs as a compulsory contribution from alternative funds
    • start after 1 January 2025
    • end by 31 May 2025
    • be completed within the five month window

    Matched contributions that exceed the 10% mandatory minimum contribution will be assessed as delivering greater value for money. Projects must also consider the suitability of sourcing additional private or public funding where it may be unsuitable for consumer bill payers to finance assets or other equipment and resources.

  • The Strategic Innovation Fund (SIF) aims to deliver net zero at lowest cost to consumers and support innovative businesses to grow and scale.

    Each Round 4 Innovation challenge as listed in the Strategic Innovation Fund – Round 4 Innovation Challenge document has different aims.

    Your Project must meet the eligibility criteria of the Strategic Innovation Fund (SIF), as stipulated in the SIF Governance Document.

    Applicants must demonstrate that the Projects deliver a net benefit to consumers through:

    • financial cost reductions, for example, operating the network, energy bills, users of network services
    • emission reduction
    • access to revenues for network users
    • introducing new products, process and services to the UK energy market

    Your proposal must focus on network innovation that can benefit GB energy network infrastructure, consumers, operation, and utilisation.

    You must address:

    • users and their context
    • constraints affecting the problem or wider context
    • opportunities for improvement
    • environmental impacts
  • You must select the primary Strategic Innovation Fund (SIF) Innovation Challenge focus theme that your project is targeting.

    Challenge 1: Faster Network Deployment:

    • Theme 1: novel methods to increase electrical capacity from existing assets or support faster and more efficient connection methods including using digital innovations
    • Theme 2: regional balancing approaches to accelerate low carbon technology deployment

    Challenge 2: Greater heat flexibility:

    • Theme 1: flexibility solutions to reduce peak electricity demand from heat decarbonisation

    Challenge 3: Embedding resilience:

    • Theme 1: Cross vector approaches to decarbonise rural communities in a resilient manner
    • Theme 2: Transition planning for an energy system with reducing natural gas demand

    Challenge 4: Accelerating towards net zero energy networks:

    • Theme 1: Innovation to improve efficiency of network operations

    Any proposed project against the points above must also consider contributing to four key cross-cutting areas:

    • inclusive development – ensuring the solution is applicable and accessible to diverse customer and consumer segments through relevant stakeholder engagement and user centric design principles
    • skills and capability – consider throughout the project where upskilling and new capability development is needed and signalling those needs to relevant third parties like academics, training institutes and key supply chain partners
    • supply chains – assess the deliverability and scalability of the solution across the GB network from a supply chain perspective including maturity of supply chains, potential vulnerabilities such as labour requirements, logistical and environmental risks
    • data and digitalisation – harness digitalisation and implementing Energy Data Best Practice across all areas
  • At this stage a Project Direction will be issued for the Discovery Phase only. Successful applicants will be invited to apply for Alpha Phase.

    The Discovery Phase of a Project will define the problem and the value in solving it. It will also facilitate a common understanding of consumers’ and network users’ needs from the innovation and identifying constraints.

    At the end of Discovery Phase all milestones detailed in the Project Direction must be fulfilled. The successful organisation will be invited to submit an application into the Alpha phase and a further assessment will take place.

    The Alpha Phase will focus on preparing and testing solutions that are identified during the Discovery Phase, ahead of any large-scale demonstration of the Project in the Beta Phase.

    Discovery phase will have many projects, feasibility studies lasting 2-3 months, up to £150k. Alpha will have fewer projects, proof of concept, lasting up to 6 months, up to £500k per project. Beta will have a few projects, large scale, real world demonstrator developments lasting up to 5 years, multi million pound funding. Further information can be found at the Ofgem SIF programme page.

  • Click here to watch the recorded briefing event.

    Click here to download the briefing slides.

    If you would like help to find a project partner, including if you have an idea and would like to find an Ofgem licensee to work with, see more details of the programme here and contact the Ofgem SIF team here.

Related programme

Ofgem Strategic Innovation Fund

Ofgem Strategic Innovation Fund

Decarbonising Great Britain’s energy networks is a huge undertaking, and it is urgent. Innovation is critical to reaching this goal. The Ofgem Strategic Innovation Fund brings together the networks, the partners, the ideas and the people, to drive the innovation and transformation needed to accelerate the delivery of net zero by 2030.

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