Changes to Strategic Innovation Fund offer opportunities for innovation

SIF projects support efforts to cut energy bills, excessive carbon emissions and energy insecurity by accelerating the transition to clean, domestic energy. According to Ofgem, the changes will make the SIF more flexible and create more opportunities to apply for funding.

Over £95m was announced for 10 projects through SIF in July of 2023. Projects being developed include technologies that will enable more flexible use of energy, artificial intelligence (AI) and weather data systems to predict energy network risks and faults, and circuit breakers that enable the increasing amounts of power generated by offshore wind to be connected to the grid more efficiently. Launched in 2021, the fund is expected to invest £450m by 2026. 

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In practice, rather than a single application window for each phase, there will be three each year for all phases which include Discovery, Alpha and Beta.

Similarly, project teams will be able to decide which phase to apply for, depending on progress. Ofgem said this approach will allow project teams to decide their own start date to suit the project and their resources. Projects will also be able to deliver within a flexible timeframe.

Projects will also be able to move through their life cycles faster; the shortest route from a successful Discovery to Beta phase can be completed in 23 months, saving up to eight months compared to the previous process. 

In a statement, Marzia Zafar, deputy director strategy – Energy Systems Management & Security at Ofgem, said: “In the past few decades, the energy system has already begun to move from its old way of thinking and doing to adopting new technologies like smart meters and new arrangements to create flexibility in the energy system. There is still more that needs to be done, we need longer duration energy storage and seasonal storage. We need households to have smart devices that automatically flex when the system sends signals. We need nuclear, Carbon Capture Utilisation and Storage (CCUS), offshore wind, onshore wind and digital solutions that can use machine learning to run the energy system efficiently and visibly. 

“Great British innovation has led to some of the greatest transformations in history such as the Agricultural, Industrial, and more recently Digital revolutions. We need this innovative spirit more than ever if we are to meet our ambition for clean energy. What these changes mean is that great innovation will be funded and rewarded seamlessly – just bring us your ideas.”

Commenting on the announcement, Dan Clarke, head of innovation at Energy Networks Association (ENA), said: “We really welcome the changes Ofgem are bringing in. These will improve access to funding and speed up innovation projects for innovators. Most importantly, the result of this should be felt by customers who will ultimately see the benefit of this investment in our energy infrastructure.”