Ofgem has set five strategic challenges to be addressed in its Strategic Innovation Fund (SIF) for energy network innovation, and announced an application window will open on 27 May.
The challnenes are:
Industrial and business connection acceleration Major new strategic industrial sites can be energised and operational within six months by 2033
Faster build and maintenance 50% faster, 20% cheaper network build and maintenance by 2035
Instant use domestic energy devices Enable instant, plug-and-play connections of domestic energy devices and appliances by 2032
Eliminating energy outages Near-zero interruptions via autonomous reconfiguring and islanding of any section of the network by 2038
Decentralised system balancing Deliver products and services to prove the viability of autonomous local balancing and optimisation of networks at every level by 2034
The so-called ‘Cycle 6’ competition will be open for project team applications through the SIF’s multiphase approach:
• Discovery: many projects, feasibility studies lasting up to 5 months, up to £200k
• Alpha: fewer projects, proof of concept lasting up to eight months, up to £650k
• Beta: few projects, large-scale, real-world demonstrator developments lasting up to 5 years, multimillion-pound funding
• Deployment: focus on the deployment of the proven solution into business as usual, SIF funding starts at £500