Energy

Innovate UK Business Connect’s Energy Team is at the centre of our work contributing to delivering the UK’s ambitious Net Zero targets. With specialists in Nuclear, Offshore Wind, Thermal Energy Systems, Batteries, Water, Hydrogen, Sustainable Energy, Grid and Distributed Systems, Electrical Energy Systems and Solar, the team has deep expertise, powerful connections and a track record of successful projects delivering environmental and societal impact.

The Energy Team aims to simplify the energy innovation landscape by providing rapid transfer of high-quality information on technologies, markets, funding and partnership opportunities. It supports businesses to decarbonise and increase energy efficiency, building on Innovate UK Business Connect’s longstanding record for work in environmental sustainability.

From a seat on the government’s Carbon Connect programme to working with Sellafield to find decontamination solutions, the team’s sector expertise is fundamental in the delivery of a variety of projects and in supporting government departments, large organisations and SMEs.

Innovate UK Business Connect has also supported three overseas missions to Canada, China, South Korea and Japan to establish the potential for UK companies to work in collaboration: from this we have a Memorandum of Understanding from a Japanese research centre and joint projects with the US.

Click here for a complete list of our open energy and sustainability funding opportunities.

Our current focus in this area

The Cross-Sector Battery Systems Innovation Network, co-founded by Innovate UK and the Faraday Battery Challenge, is a cross-sectoral and collaborative community of technology developers and end-users.

Innovate UK Business Connect is working with ENGIE through the Innovation Exchange programme to support the Clean Growth Innovation Fund on a number of themes around electrical energy systems.

Innovate UK Hydrogen Innovation Network is a non-competitive advisory group to pool knowledge from existing Hydrogen communities and validate views on the current challenges to enabling low-carbon Hydrogen production at scale and cost.

Innovate UK Innovation Exchange is a cross-sector programme supporting innovation transfer by matching industry challenges to innovative companies from other sectors. It does this by putting large businesses with technical needs in contact with companies who have the right innovative solutions, for faster development of novel solutions.

Innovate UK Business Connect supports activities across the nuclear landscape including existing generation, new build and decommissioning and waste management. There are also strong links with the fusion energy community.

Innovate UK Business Connect supports the offshore wind industry as a major contributor to the ORE Catapult innovation hub funded by BEIS, as well as supporting the companies who are making applications for funding for offshore renewables.

Innovate UK Business Connect supports the SuperSolar Network Plus with the Head of Infrastructure acting as Chair to the Network Industrial Advisory Group. Through this group, and programmes such as Energy Catalyst as described above, we are actively brokering B2B and B2A linkages.

Innovate UK Business Connect supports the heating and cooling industries in the UK including the electrification of heat (heat pumps, storage heaters, dry heating systems), heat networks (infrastructure, heat exchangers, heat network optimisation) and low carbon gases (hydrogen, biogas and other green gases).

Related Opportunities

Contracts for Innovation: Clean Energy Demonstrators in Tanzania

Opens: 11/11/2024   Closes: 17/01/2025

Organisations can apply for a share of up to £1.8m to develop innovative clean energy demonstrators in Tanzania.

More Information

Launchpad: net zero industry, South West Wales – Rd 2 MFA

Opens: 04/11/2024   Closes: 11/12/2024

UK registered businesses can apply for a share of up to £1 million for projects that grow their innovation activities in the net zero industrial cluster in South West Wales. This funding is from Innovate UK.

More Information

Contracts for Innovation: Fusion Industry Challenges - Novel Concepts for Robust Diagnostics Systems, Sensing and Control

Opens: 18/11/2024   Closes: 20/12/2024

Solutions sought for two fusion energy challenges: novel concepts for robust diagnostics systems, and robust components for sensing and control.

More Information

Horizon Europe Pump Priming collaboration opportunities 2024

Opens: 12/11/2024   Closes: 17/01/2025

Innovate UK and British Academy are pleased to announce funding schemes for Horizon Europe Pump Priming Grants, open to all disciplines.

More Information

India - UK Collaborative R&D for industrial sustainability Rd 2

Opens: 25/11/2024   Closes: 12/02/2025

UK registered organisations can collaborate with Indian businesses to apply for a share of up to £2m for innovative proposals.  

More Information

Innovate UK Smart grants: November 2024

Opens: 14/11/2024   Closes: 22/01/2025

UK registered organisations can apply for a share of up to £15m for game changing, commercially viable R&D that can significantly impact the UK economy.

More Information

Related Events and Recordings

Thu
3
Oct
2024

Net Zero Heat Open Day

09.00 - 12.30 | Online

Watch now
Wed
29
Jan
2025

Navigating Net Zero: Understanding the Role of Hydrogen

10.00 - 11.30 | Online

Register for this series
Mon
3
Jun
2024

Ofgem Strategic Innovation Fund (SIF) Show & Tell webinars – Discovery Round 3

09.30 - 16.30 | Online

Watch now
See all events

Our Experts

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Driving the Electric Revolution 2023 Annual Report

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The Driving the Electric Revolution Annual Report reflects on all the major achievements the Driving the Electric Revolution Challenge has achieved throughout 2023.

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Related programme

Hydrogen Supply Chain Directory

Hydrogen Supply Chain Directory

This directory shares the details of those who are currently producing, storing, transporting, and using hydrogen. It also showcases solutions-providers who may be able to help these end users meet their hydrogen targets. Innovate UK Business Connect can facilitate knowledge transfer and introductions for users of the directory.

For general enquiries regarding our Energy sector contact us now

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