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."
This article was first published on 6 September by Innovate UK/UKRI.
Receive the Funding Newswire [full access requires a subscription] each Tuesday, our Policy Bulletin each Thursday, and news about bridging Europe’s east-west innovation gap twice a month in The Widening. 
A unique international forum for public research organisations and companies to connect their external engagement with strategic interests around their R&D system.
