Ofgem Round 3: Call for Ideas

This Call for Ideas is open to sole innovators and to organisations of all types and sizes. This includes UK registered businesses of any size, research organisations, and research and technology organisations.

To secure future funding from SIF, you will be required to partner with an Energy Network who will lead an application into one of the SIF challenge competitions.

Your submitted proposal must:

• intend to carry out its project work in Great Britain (England, Scotland or Wales)
• intend to exploit the results from or in Great Britain
• outline network customer benefits
• include a unique selling proposition
• detail the types of Networks you wish to be involved with
• highlight which challenge and theme your idea addresses

The future funded opportunities for SIF Round 3 have different phases:

1. Discovery Phase: projects must last up to three months and have a total requested funding of no more than £150,000, exclusive of VAT
2. Alpha Phase: projects must last up to six months and have a total requested funding of no more than £500,000, exclusive of VAT
3. Beta Phase: projects must last up to five years and have a total requested funding of no more than £10 million, exclusive of VAT, total costs and funding requests of more than this may be considered on a case by case basis

A minimum of 10% compulsory contribution is also expected at each stage.

This opportunity is a Call for Ideas and does not guarantee a proposal will be taken forward. There is no funding available for this Call for Ideas.

Submitted proposals for this call for ideas will be sent for consideration at 11am UK time on the following dates:

• 27 June 2023 – First submission
• 26 July 2023 – Second submission
• 11 August 2023 – Final submission date

Proposals submitted after 11am on the first two dates will be sent for consideration on the final date.

The Strategic Innovation Fund (SIF) aims to deliver net zero at lowest cost to consumers and support innovative businesses to grow and scale. This includes decarbonising gas and electric energy distribution, transmission networks and benefit to the consumer. SIF projects should help shape the future of the gas and electricity networks and succeed commercially where possible.

SIF funded projects must aim to reduce costs for consumers and carbon emissions, while improving access to revenues and markets. This will also incentivise the creation of new products, processes and services, linking into the themes for each challenge.

The Challenges for SIF Round 3 are:

• Challenge 1: Whole system network planning and utilisation to facilitate faster and cheaper network transformation, and asset rollout
• Challenge 2: Novel technical and market approaches to deliver an equitable and secure net zero power system
• Challenge 3: Unlocking energy system flexibility to accelerate electrification of heat
• Challenge 4: Enabling Power-to-gas (P2G) to provide system flexibility and energy network optimisation

Within each challenge there are specific themes (see below). Your proposal must meet one of these themes for your selected challenge.

Challenge 1 (Whole system network planning and utilisation) themes:

• Digital simulation and advanced modelling techniques to facilitate whole system network planning and development
• Leveraging data, digital tools, and novel commercial arrangements to maximise existing network capacity
• Reducing network connection times through use of demand and supply side flexibility
• Supporting consumers to make cost effective decarbonisation choices co-ordinated with wider local area or regional plans

Challenge 2 (Novel technical and market approaches) themes:

• Novel market and technical approaches to cost effectively minimise renewable energy curtailment
• Leveraging disruptive computing technologies for improving system visibility, performance, and cyber-security.
• Effectively managing peak demand and stability through increased flexibility including over longer time periods (multi-day and seasonal).
• Enabling disadvantaged consumer segments to participate in flexibility markets and benefit from novel low carbon technologies, to make more cost-effective choices for low carbon technologies

Challenge 3 (Unlocking energy system flexibility to accelerate electrification of heat) themes:

• Improving local heat supply and demand analysis and coordination to support energy network planning
• Improving the value and capture of system benefits from heat flexibility
• Effectively managing peak demand and stability through increased flexibility including over longer periods (multi-day and seasonal)
• Equitable approaches to reinforcement costs driven by heat electrification including via improving visibility of constraints

Challenge 4 (Enabling Power-to-gas)  themes:

• Optimising electrolyser deployment and operation to unlock whole system value
• Commercial and technical innovation to secure system benefits from hydrogen storage deployments

This Call for Ideas is open to proposals for any social, regulatory, market, legal or technical innovation that aligns with the challenges and related themes identified and is within the remit of the Energy Networks. Proposals can be related to a product, process or service.

The competitions team have prepared a recorded briefing for potential applicants: click here to view.

Please contact Innovate UK KTN’s Clean Energy and Infrastructure team if you would like advice on a proposal, or are looking for a collaborator.