Ofgem Strategic Innovation Fund
Decarbonising Great Britain’s energy networks is a huge undertaking, and it is urgent. Innovation is critical to reaching this goal. The Ofgem Strategic Innovation Fund brings together the networks, the partners, the ideas and the people, to drive the innovation and transformation needed to accelerate the delivery of net zero by 2030.
Transitioning the UK’s energy networks towards a resilient and efficient future.
The Ofgem Strategic Innovation Fund (SIF) is part of the price control system managed by industry regulator Ofgem and was established in 2021 to drive innovation and transformation in energy networks.
The SIF supports network innovation that contributes to the achievement of net zero, while delivering real net benefits to network companies and consumers. Working with other public funders of innovation so that activities appropriately funded by network consumers are coordinated with activities funded by Government. Energy network companies form partnerships with energy innovators to bid for funding to run transformative innovation projects. Key sectors include Agriculture, AI, Built environment, Digital, Energy, Energy efficiency, Fuel poverty, Net zero, Retrofit, Sustainability, Transport, Water.
The Ofgem Strategic Innovation Fund is delivered in partnership between Ofgem and Innovate UK, drawing on Innovate UK’s established expertise in managing innovation programmes, convening partners, and fostering entrepreneurship.
Game changing innovations
The journey to decarbonising Great Britain's energy networks is a huge undertaking. It requires game changing innovations led by the most ambitious energy innovators around. And for the last few years Ofgem Strategic Innovation Fund has been doing just that.
Vision and mission
Helping people
We create products and services to transition energy networks to net zero, ensuring value for money for consumers. We aim to empower people in businesses and communities.
Helping the planet
We are accelerating the delivery of net zero goals while enabling energy security. Our efforts focus on making energy systems more resilient and robust.
Helping business
We enable diverse collaboration to drive change and support the best ideas to grow and scale, encouraging finance and investment to foster innovation.
The process
The SIF programme has been designed to support your energy innovation journey and help grow and scale successful businesses to deployment. The very best transformational ideas contributing to Britain’s economic growth as they accelerate the decarbonisation of Britain’s energy networks to achieve net zero objectives. To find out more, watch our Innovate UK Ofgem Strategic Innovation Fund (SIF) – application process animation on YouTube.
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When setting our strategic innovation challenges, Innovate UK and Ofgem engage with subject matter experts from third party innovators, academia, network companies, policymakers, and industry. This gives us a robust, transparent, and well-informed process for challenge identification and prioritisation.
The resulting challenges help shape the future energy network innovation landscape, driving environmental, economic, societal, and whole-system benefits. Setting clear market direction for projects to deliver transformational innovations to achieve net zero.
Read about the Round 4 challenges (announced March 2024)
Read about the Round 5 challenges (announced March 2025)
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We run a series of ideation events to support the generation of new ideas to address these key challenges, these include online webinars, and in-person and virtual workshops. Engaging with a wide range of innovators, energy networks and other third parties.
The webinars provide important context to specific challenges we’ve identified. Helping relevant stakeholders learn more about the priority problem areas, as well as understand relevant case studies from the SIF and beyond. The follow-up workshops bring stakeholders together to explore potential solutions and project ideas in greater detail.
Watch recordings of our Ofgem SIF webinar series: Round 5 Ideation on YouTube.
Outside of the ideation events, third parties with ideas or expertise relevant to the SIF can engage with us throughout the year via our SIF Round 5 Expression of Interest form.
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Following on from workshops and expressions of interest, we support follow-up activities through facilitating introductions and signposting relevant resources.
The strongest and most relevant ideas are invited by networks to form effective partnerships with them and other stakeholder project partners, such as industry and academia. Working in collaboration the project partners develop the project idea into an application for submission into the SIF.
Applications are submitted by the lead network onto the Innovation Funding Service portal.
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Working with subject matter experts, Innovate UK and Ofgem select and fund the most promising ideas that meet the challenge criteria. Successfully funded projects begin a journey with three phases.
At each phase projects compete for higher levels of funding, with fewer projects going through each time.
- Discovery: many projects, feasibility studies lasting up to 5 months, up to £150k.
- Alpha: fewer projects, proof of concept, lasting up to 8 months, up to £500k per project.
- Beta: a few projects, large-scale, real-world demonstrator developments lasting up to 5 years, multimillion-pound funding.
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SIF supports a broad range of project types. Some projects provide learnings about the fundamental benefits of technologies or materials, others create deployable products and services. Both are important in our energy system.
Deployment is embedding an innovation into the everyday operations of a network, whether that’s hardware, software, data or process related. Monitoring our active beta projects and evaluating against a framework of criteria, allows us to identify projects with deployment potential. We support these projects in identifying challenges and taking early action to avoid or mitigate these blockers, smoothing the journey to deployment.
The other side of deployment is commercialisation. This is where an innovation transitions from technical proof to market viability. Project outcomes turn into something that creates a new customer, revenue stream, market or supply chain opportunity. Commercialisation typically happens when, third parties, e.g. small and medium enterprises (SMEs) or original equipment manufacturers, develop and successfully sell solutions that address a network problem.
We also monitor the progress of SMEs that are involved in the SIF portfolio. By maintaining a close relationship and monitoring their development we can support directly, or through our IUK partners like IUK Business Connect.
Funding cycles and dates
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Projects that address the Round 3 innovation challenges must be in beta stage to apply.
Projects that address the Round 4 innovation challenges can be in:
- Discovery
- Alpha
- Beta
Projects that address the Round 5 innovation challenges can be in:
- Discovery
- Alpha
- Beta
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Projects that address the Round 3 innovation challenges must be in beta stage to apply.
Projects that address the Round 4 innovation challenges can be in:
- Alpha
- Beta
Projects that address the Round 5 innovation challenges can be in:
- Discovery
- Alpha
- Beta
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Projects that address the Round 5 innovation challenges can be in:
- Discovery
- Alpha
- Beta
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Projects that address the Round 5 innovation challenges can be in:
- Discovery
- Alpha
- Beta
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Projects that address the Round 5 innovation challenges can be in:
- Discovery
- Alpha
- Beta
Related Opportunities
Ofgem Strategic Innovation Fund Round 4 Discovery - May 2025
Opens: 26/05/2025 Closes: 25/06/2025
Organisations can apply for a share of up to £30m for collaborative projects on network development, heat flexibility, resilience and net zero.
More Information
Ofgem Strategic Innovation Fund Round 5 Discovery - May 2025
Opens: 26/05/2025 Closes: 25/06/2025
Organisations can apply for a share of up to £30m for collaborative projects to deliver a net zero energy grid in the UK by tackling the Round 5 challenges.
More Information
PROJECTS
Explore projects funded by the Ofgem Strategic Innovation Fund
Read the Ofgem Strategic Innovation Fund (SIF) Project Directory
Download brochure (PDF)
For in-depth details about any of the above projects, visit the Energy Networks Association Innovation Portal.
Networks
All SIF projects are led by one of Britain’s energy networks, to find out more watch our introduction to energy networks video series on YouTube.
Related Events and Recordings
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CONTACT
For all enquiries
If you need additional support or would like more information, please contact the team.