Funding competition Ofgem Strategic Innovation Fund Round 4 Discovery

Organisations can apply for a share of up to £30 million exclusive of VAT, for collaborative Discovery Phase Projects that meet the Round 4 challenges. This funding is from the Ofgem Strategic Innovation Fund.

Competition opens: Monday 23 September 2024
Competition closes: Wednesday 23 October 2024 11:00am

Start new application

Or sign in to continue an existing application.

Description

This competition is delivered in partnership with the Office of Gas and Electricity Markets (Ofgem). It is funded by the Ofgem Strategic Innovation Fund, which aims to deliver net zero at lowest cost to consumers and support innovative businesses to grow and scale.

Discovery is the first phase of a three phase competition:

Discovery
Alpha
Beta

There are four challenges in this Discovery Phase:

Challenge 1: Faster network development
Challenge 2: Greater heat flexibility
Challenge 3: Embedding resilience
Challenge 4: Accelerating towards net zero energy networks

You are encouraged to consider all areas of your Project from the initial Discovery Phase through to commercialisation following Alpha and Beta.

This competition is open to collaborative applications only.

Your Project must address one of the challenges for the initial Round 4 Discovery Phase. You must plan for the development of your Project to meet a Round 4 Challenge through to live testing in the Alpha Phase and large-scale demonstration in the Beta Phase.

It is the responsibility of the lead applicant to ensure that they are entering the appropriate challenge competition and theme for their Project.

Successful applicants from the Discovery Phase will be invited to apply for the Alpha Phase.

In applying to this Discovery Phase competition, you are entering into a competitive process.

Any adoption and implementation of a solution from this competition would be subject to a separate, possibly competitive, procurement exercise.

This competition closes at 11am UK time on the deadline stated in this Innovate UK competition brief. We cannot guarantee other government or third party sites will always show the correct competition information.

Funding type

Thirdparty

Project size

Your Discovery Phase Project must have a total requested funding of no more than £150,000, exclusive of VAT.

Accessibility and Inclusion

We welcome and encourage applications from people of all backgrounds and are committed to making our application process accessible to everyone. This includes making reasonable adjustments, for people who have a disability or a long-term condition and face barriers applying to us.

You can contact us at any time to ask for guidance.

We recommend you contact us at least 15 working days before this competition’s closing date to allow us to put the most suitable support in place. The support we can provide may be limited if you contact us close to the competition deadline.

You can contact Innovate UK by email or call 0300 321 4357. Our phone lines are open from 9am to 12pm and 2pm to 5pm UK time, Monday to Friday (excluding bank holidays).

Who can apply

This award has been designed to be provided on a no subsidy basis, as defined in the Subsidy Control Act 2022.

This means to be eligible, the award will not give an economic advantage on one or more organisations, and you must not be acting economically as an organisation within the meaning of the act.

In limited circumstances, EU State aid rules may apply under The Windsor Framework and a ‘No Aid’ award may be given in accordance with the R&D&I Framework.

Your Project

Your Project must:

have total eligible Strategic Innovation Fund (SIF) requested funding of no more than £150,000, exclusive of VAT
provide a minimum of 10% of total Project costs as a compulsory contribution from alternative funds
start after 1 January 2025
end by 31 May 2025
be completed within the five month window

Your Project deliverables must be completed within the five month window stated. You are required to fulfil all monitoring requirements, for example, end of phase meetings and Project show and tells, further guidance will be provided.

Projects must always start on the first of the month and this must be stated within your application. Your Project start date will be reflected in your Project Direction if you are successful.

You must only include eligible project costs in your application.

Lead organisation

To lead a Discovery Phase Project you must:

be an Ofgem licensed electricity or gas distribution network, transmission operator, or Electricity System Operator (ESO).

Project partners

Each Discovery Phase Round 4 Challenge has specific project partner requirements in addition to the lead network licensee. The eligibility requirements for the Discovery Phase Challenges are different for each Challenge theme:

Challenge 1: Faster network development partner requirements:

Theme 1: there are no specific partner requirements

Theme 2: you must partner with organisations with proven experience in developing and trialling regional energy models

Challenge 2: Greater heat flexibility partner requirements:

Theme 1: there are no specific partner requirements

Challenge 3: Embedding resilience partner requirements:

Theme 1: must involve a consumer representative group relevant to rural energy development

Theme 2: there are no specific partner requirements

Challenge 4: Accelerating towards net zero energy networks partner requirements:

Theme 1: there are no specific partner requirements

You are encouraged to have other Project Partners in addition to the mandatory requirements listed above. Your Project Partners can include a variety of third-party innovators such as:

start-ups
SMEs
suppliers
academics
independent researchers
disruptors
other licenced energy network companies

This list is not intended to be exhaustive.

The Project Direction will be awarded to a single legal entity only.

If successful, the Project Direction will be awarded only to the lead network (Funding Party). Project Partners must be responsible for at least one deliverable in the Discovery Phase.

Ofgem are looking for proposals that involve all the necessary stakeholders relevant to the proposed innovation. We particularly encourage Projects working with suitable SME technology developers and growth companies.

Each Project Partner organisation must be invited into the Innovation Funding Service (IFS) by the lead to collaborate on a Project. Once Project Partners have accepted the invitation, they will be asked to login or to create an account in IFS. They are responsible for entering their own project costs in the application.

To be an eligible collaboration, the lead and at least one other organisation must apply for funding when entering their costs into the application.

Sanctions

This competition will not fund you, or provide any financial benefit to any individual or entities directly or indirectly involved with you, which would expose Innovate UK or any direct or indirect beneficiary of funding from Ofgem to UK Sanctions. For example, through any procurement, commercial, business development or supply chain activity with any entity as lead, partner or subcontractor related to these countries, administrations and terrorist groups.

Use of animals in research and innovation

Innovate UK expects and supports the provision and safeguarding of welfare standards for animals used in research and innovation, according to best practice and up to date guidance.

Applicants must ensure that all of the proposed work within projects, both that in the UK and internationally, will comply with the UKRI guidance on the use of animals in research and innovation.

Any projects selected for funding which involve animals will be asked to provide additional information on welfare and ethical considerations, as well as compliance with any relevant legislation as part of the project start-up process. This information will be reviewed before an award is made.

Previous applications

Ofgem will not award funding if you have failed to comply with the eligibility criteria set out in Chapter 2 of the SIF Governance document.

In line with paragraph 5.8 in the SIF Governance Document, Projects submitted under previous rounds of the SIF are eligible to request permission to reapply into SIF Round 4 Innovation Challenges.

This is on the condition that your Project:

meets the Round 4 Innovation Challenge scope, eligibility, and partner requirements
acknowledges the focus of the Innovation Challenges’ changes with each round of the SIF
meets with the requirement set out in the Innovation Challenge it is applying to, rather than a previous round’s Innovation Challenge

If you are resubmitting a previously unsuccessful SIF Project, you must contact Innovate UK and Ofgem for approval as soon as possible prior to resubmission. You must email Innovate UK at SIF_Ofgem@iuk.ukri.org and copy in Ofgem at network.innovation@ofgem.gov.uk.

You must provide an explanation as to how the Project has materially changed since it was last submitted and how the Project aligns with the current Innovation Challenge.

Ofgem is the decision maker on the SIF. It is at Ofgem’s discretion (on a case-by-case basis) whether Projects have materially changed since a Project was last submitted and are eligible to reapply.

No subsidy (and non-aid where applicable)

No subsidy

This competition has been designed to provide funding that is not classed by Innovate UK as a subsidy.

Your eligibility to be given an award on a ‘No Subsidy’ basis will be determined by Innovate UK after you have submitted your application.

You should still seek independent legal advice on what this means for you, before applying.

Further information about the Subsidy Control Act 2022 requirements can be found within the Subsidy Control Act 2022 (legislation.gov.uk)

It is the responsibility of the lead organisation to make sure all collaborators in the project remain compliant with the ‘No Subsidy’ status they are awarded. .

It is important to note that it is the activity that an organisation is engaged in as part of the project and not its intentions, that define whether any support provided could be considered a subsidy.

EU State aid rules now only apply in limited circumstances. Please see the Windsor Framework to check if these rules apply to your organisation.

Further Information

If you are unsure about your obligations under the Subsidy Control Act 2022 regime you should take independent legal advice. We cannot advise on individual eligibility or legal obligations.

Funding

A total SIF funding of up to £30 million exclusive of VAT is allocated to the Discovery Phase across the four challenges.

Matched contributions that exceed the 10% mandatory minimum contribution will be assessed as delivering greater value for money. Projects must also consider the suitability of sourcing additional private or public funding where it may be unsuitable for consumer bill payers to finance assets or other equipment and resources.

If you are unsure whether your Project or parts of your Project are eligible for funding in this competition, you must contact us by email to SIF_Ofgem@iuk.ukri.org at least five working days before the competition closes. We will decide whether to approve your request.

The total funding available for the competition can change. The funders have the right to:

adjust the provisional funding allocations between the phases
apply a ‘portfolio’ approach based on technology, geography, innovation, markets, and participants

Ofgem reserve the right to make the final decision as to which Projects are funded.

At the end of Discovery Phase all milestones detailed in the Project Direction must be fulfilled. The successful organisation will be invited to submit an application into the Alpha phase and a further assessment will take place.

Your proposal

The Strategic Innovation Fund (SIF) aims to deliver net zero at lowest cost to consumers and support innovative businesses to grow and scale.

Each Round 4 Innovation challenge as listed in the Strategic Innovation Fund - Round 4 Innovation Challenge document has different aims.

You must select which challenge you Project is working on.

Challenge 1: Faster Network Deployment represents a greater focus from:

Whole System Integration
Preparing for a Net Zero Power System
Whole System Network Planning

Challenge 2: Greater heat flexibility represents a greater focus from:

Whole System Integration, Heat
Accelerating Decarbonisation of major demands
Unlocking Energy system flexibility to accelerate electrification of heat

Challenge 3: Embedding resilience represents a greater focus from:

All Challenges from Round 1
Three of the four challenges from Round 2 (excluding Preparing for a net zero power system)
Power to Gas for system flexibility

Challenge 4: Accelerating towards net zero energy networks, represents a greater focus from:

Accelerating Decarbonisation of major demands

Your Project must meet the eligibility criteria of the Strategic Innovation Fund (SIF), as stipulated in the SIF Governance Document.

Applicants must demonstrate that the Projects deliver a net benefit to consumers through:

financial cost reductions, for example, operating the network, energy bills, users of network services
emission reduction
access to revenues for network users
introducing new products, process and services to the UK energy market

Your proposal must focus on network innovation that can benefit GB energy network infrastructure, consumers, operation, and utilisation.

You must address:

users and their context
constraints affecting the problem or wider context
opportunities for improvement
environmental impacts

At this stage a Project Direction will be issued for the Discovery Phase only. Successful applicants will be invited to apply for Alpha Phase.

The Discovery Phase of a Project will define the problem and the value in solving it. It will also facilitate a common understanding of consumers’ and network users’ needs from the innovation and identifying constraints.

The Alpha Phase will focus on preparing and testing solutions that are identified during the Discovery Phase, ahead of any large-scale demonstration of the Project in the Beta Phase.

Specific themes

Innovation Challenge focus themes

You must select the primary Strategic Innovation Fund (SIF) Innovation Challenge focus theme that your project is targeting.

Challenge 1: Faster Network Deployment:

Theme 1: novel methods to increase electrical capacity from existing assets or support faster and more efficient connection methods including using digital innovations
Theme 2: regional balancing approaches to accelerate low carbon technology deployment

Challenge 2: Greater heat flexibility:

Theme 1: flexibility solutions to reduce peak electricity demand from heat decarbonisation

Challenge 3: Embedding resilience:

Theme 1: Cross vector approaches to decarbonise rural communities in a resilient manner
Theme 2: Transition planning for an energy system with reducing natural gas demand

Challenge 4: Accelerating towards net zero energy networks:

Theme 1: Innovation to improve efficiency of network operations

Any proposed project against the points above must also consider contributing to four key cross-cutting areas:

inclusive development – ensuring the solution is applicable and accessible to diverse customer and consumer segments through relevant stakeholder engagement and user centric design principles
skills and capability – consider throughout the project where upskilling and new capability development is needed and signalling those needs to relevant third parties like academics, training institutes and key supply chain partners
supply chains – assess the deliverability and scalability of the solution across the GB network from a supply chain perspective including maturity of supply chains, potential vulnerabilities such as labour requirements, logistical and environmental risks
data and digitalisation - harness digitalisation and implementing Energy Data Best Practice across all areas

Projects we will not fund

Ofgem will not fund Projects that do not meet the requirements of the SIF Governance Document.

23 September 2024

Briefing event: watch the recording

Briefing slides are now available to download from supporting information.

23 September 2024

Competition opens

23 October 2024 11:00am

Competition closes

5 December 2024

Applicants notified

16 December 2024

Project Directions issued

Before you start

You must read the guidance for submitting an application on the Innovation Funding Service (IFS) before you start.

SIF Governance Document - terms and conditions (T&Cs)

The SIF Governance Document is specific to the Ofgem Strategic Innovation Fund (SIF). It is issued by Ofgem further to the SIF Licence Condition and sets out the governance and administration of the SIF. Network companies and the Electricity System Operator must comply with the SIF Governance Document.

The SIF Governance Document provides more information on:

eligibility criteria
application process
assessment of Projects
Project delivery and monitoring
funding arrangements
Project administration, including compliance and audits
intellectual property rights and royalties
learning and collaboration, including external stakeholder relationship development, information sharing and reporting

This list is not exhaustive.

If your application is successful, Ofgem will issue a Project Direction to the network licensee leading the Project, which confirms the deliverables, costs and milestones for which they are accountable during the upcoming Phase.

It is the responsibility of each partner in the Project to ensure that they have read the SIF Governance Document. By ticking the T&Cs box in IFS ahead of the application being submitted, you are confirming that you have read the SIF Governance Document and are satisfied that you understand the regulatory framework.

You can contact us if there is any aspect of the SIF you do not understand.

What we ask you

The application is split into three sections:

Project details.
Application questions.
Finances.

Accessibility and inclusion

You can contact us at any time to ask for guidance.

You can contact us by emailing support@iuk.ukri.org or calling 0300 321 4357. Our phone lines are open from 9am to 5pm, Monday to Friday (excluding bank holidays).

1. Project details

This section provides background for the Expert Assessors and is not scored.
We may ask for further information from you at the Project kick off stage if you are successful.

Application team

Decide which organisations will work with you on your Project and invite people from those organisations to help complete the application.

Application details

Give your project’s title and proposed start date. This must be after 1 January 2025, your project must be completed within five months of this date and end by 31 May 2025.

Public description

Describe your project in detail and in a way that you are happy to see published. Do not include any commercially sensitive information. If we award your project funding, we will publish this description. This could happen before you start your project.

Your answer can be up to 100 words long.

Innovation Challenge

Select the Strategic Innovation Fund (SIF) Innovation Challenge that your Project is focusing on.

Innovation Challenges Round 4:

Challenge 1: Faster network development
Challenge 2: Greater heat flexibility
Challenge 3: Embedding resilience
Challenge 4: Accelerating towards net zero energy networks

Innovation Challenge aim

Select the Strategic Innovation Fund (SIF) Innovation Challenge aim that your Project is focusing on

Challenge 1 aims:

promote greater real-time awareness and operation of power networks
increase net zero aligned supply and demand assets’ hosting capacity of energy networks
demonstrate greater use of machine learning, artificial intelligence and quantum computing to improve real-time monitoring and optimisation of energy networks
deliver replicable regional energy system models that can support energy networks and wider system in terms of supply-demand balancing
increased confidence of energy networks, regulator and other actors in the energy sector on the effectiveness of regional energy models

Challenge 2 aims:

increase participation of thermal flexibility in DSO and ESO markets
reduce time to integrate heat decarbonisation in network planning
reduce heat led peak demand through flexibility
increase use of renewable power for electrified heat through flexibility

Challenge 3 aims:

alleviate energy network barriers to decarbonising rural communities
develop novel and replicable approaches to support rural decarbonisation in a timely, resilient and cost-effective manner
develop critical evidence to support clarifying role of GB gas networks in net zero transition from a whole system perspective
deploy novel and cost-effective alternate uses of gas infrastructure in parts of the system
improve gas network decommissioning cost estimates and develop novel solutions to reduce it

Challenge 4 aims:

develop solutions to reduce efficiency loss in the GB electricity transmission and distribution system
achieve greater clarity and improved evidence on reducing efficiency loss in the context of greater network utilisation and deployment of low carbon technologies

Innovation Challenge focus theme

Select the primary Strategic Innovation Fund (SIF) Innovation Challenge focus theme that your Project is targeting.

Innovation Challenge 1: Faster network development

Theme 1: novel methods to increase electrical capacity from existing assets or support faster and more efficient connection methods including using digital innovations
Theme 2: regional balancing approaches to accelerate low carbon technology deployment

Innovation Challenge 2: Greater heat flexibility

Theme 1: flexibility solutions to reduce peak electricity demand from heat decarbonisation

Innovation Challenge 3: Embedding resilience

Theme 1: cross vector approaches to decarbonise rural communities in a resilient manner
Theme 2: transition planning for an energy system with reducing natural gas demand

Innovation Challenge 4: Accelerating towards net zero energy networks

Theme 1: develop solutions to reduce efficiency loss in the GB electricity transmission and distribution system
Theme 2: achieve greater clarity and improved evidence on reducing efficiency loss in the context of greater network utilisation and deployment of low carbon technologies

2. Application questions

A selected panel of independent Expert Assessors will review and assess your application.

The Expert Assessors will score your answers for each question, apart from questions 1, 2, 4, 6, 11 and 12.

All applicants will be provided with feedback.

Your show and tell presentation will be considered as part of your submission for the next phase.

You must answer all questions.

Your answer to each question can be up to 400 words long.

Do not include any URLs in your answers unless we have explicitly requested a link to a video.

All required templates are available to download from the SharePoint link in question 9. Once completed, this Excel spreadsheet must be uploaded in response to question 9.

Question 1. Lead Network (not scored)

You must select the Lead Network, who will be the funding recipient, for this application:

Cadent Gas Limited (Cadent)
Electricity North West Limited (ENWL)
National Grid Electricity Distribution (WMID): West Midlands Plc
National Grid Electricity Distribution (EMID): East Midlands Plc
National Grid Electricity Distribution (SWALES): South Wales Plc
National Grid Electricity Distribution (SWEST): South West Plc
National Grid Electricity System Operator Limited (NGESO)
National Grid Electricity Transmission Plc (NGET)
National Gas Transmission Plc (NGT)
Northern Gas Networks Limited (NGN)
Northern Powergrid (Northeast) Plc (NPgN)
Northern Powergrid (Yorkshire) Plc (NPgY)
Scottish and Southern Energy Power Distribution (SHEPD): Scottish Hydro Electric Power Distribution Plc
Scottish and Southern Energy Power Distribution (SSEPD), Southern Electric Power Distribution Plc
Scotland Gas Networks Plc (SGN)
Southern Gas Networks Plc (SGN)
Scottish Hydro Electric (SHE) Transmission Plc
SP Energy Networks: Distribution Ltd (SPD)
SP Energy Networks: Manweb Plc (SPMW)
SP Transmission (SPT)
UK Power Networks: London Power Networks Plc (LPN)
UK Power Networks: South Eastern Power Networks Plc (SPN)
UK Power Networks: Eastern Power Networks Plc (EPN)
Wales & West Utilities Limited (WWU)

Question 2. Animal testing (not scored)

Will your Project involve any trials with animals or animal testing?

You must select one option:

We will only support innovation Projects conducted to the highest standards of animal welfare.

Further information for proposals involving animal testing is available at the UKRI Good Research Hub and NC3R’s animal welfare guidance.

Question 3. Problem statement

You must provide a summary of the problem that you want to solve through your Project.

In your summary, you must explain:

the problem identified and how your Project will address the identified problem
how your Project meets the primary Innovation Challenge aim and focus area stated
if applicable, how your Project meets other Innovation Challenge aims and focus areas
the potential users of your innovation and how your Project addresses their needs
what other public or network innovation funded work have you already completed that is relevant or is contributing to this Project

This question covers Eligibility Criterion 1: Projects must address the Innovation Challenge set by Ofgem, as outlined in chapter 2 of the SIF Governance Document.

Question 4. Video (not scored)

Please provide a link to a video that summarises your project and the problem you are looking to solve. Your video must be no longer than 60 seconds.

In your video you must summarise:

the problem you are addressing
your idea in providing a solution
the benefits it will bring to customers

You must upload a video to YouTube, provide a link to your video and any passwords to allow access to it, in your answer to this question. You must ensure your video is ‘unlisted’ in the privacy settings.

If we are unable to view your video or it is not hosted on YouTube, your application will be made ineligible. The video must remain available for 12 months from the submission date.

You can find more information on how to create an unlisted video on YouTube.

If your Project is successful in winning funding, Innovate UK will publish your 60 second video as part of the press release for this Phase.

Your submitted video must be:

suitable for representing your Project and company in public
an acceptable standard for Innovate UK's YouTube channel

Separate guidance on quality standards is available on SharePoint. If necessary, we may ask you to remake your video to a better standard before publication.

If you are having problems uploading your video to YouTube, you must contact support@iuk.ukri.org at least 10 working days before the competition closes for advice.

Question 5. Innovation justification

How does your Project demonstrate novel and ambitious innovation in the energy networks? Why is it suitable to be funded by SIF rather than other sources?

You must explain:

what the core innovative aspects of your Project are, including demonstration of the technical understanding relevant to the Project
how your Project activity or output is innovative compared to the most relevant state of the art product, process or service, quantifying this information where possible
how your Project builds on previous research and goes beyond incremental innovation
the current and estimated technology readiness levels (TRL), integration readiness levels (IRL) and commercial readiness levels (CRL) for your innovation at the end of this current phase
why the proposed size and scale of your Project is the most appropriate to achieve SIF objectives and the relevant Innovation Challenge
why your Project cannot be funded elsewhere within the price control or considered as part of business as usual activities
what counterfactual solutions and approaches have you considered, including how and why you have disregarded alternative approaches

For the purpose of this competition, these are the definitions of TRL, IRL and CRL.

You can upload relevant supporting documentation in a separate appendix to support your answer. It can include images and diagrams, it must be a PDF, up to two A4 pages long and no larger than 10MB in size. The font must be in 11 point font size.

This question covers these Eligibility Criteria, as outlined in chapter 2 of the SIF Governance Document:

1: Projects must address the Innovation Challenge set by Ofgem

3: Projects must involve network innovation

5: Projects must be innovative novel or risky, or both

Question 6. Impacts and benefits selection (not scored)

From the list below you must identify all applicable SIF specific benefits which your Project is looking to deliver against a business-as-usual counterfactual and state them as your response to this question:

financial - future reductions in the cost of operating the network
financial - cost savings per annum on energy bills for consumers
financial - cost savings per annum for users of network services
environmental - carbon reduction – direct CO2 savings per annum
environmental - carbon reduction – indirect CO2 savings per annum
revenues - improved access to revenues for users of network services
revenues - creation of new revenue streams
new to market - products
new to market - processes
new to market - services
others that are not SIF specific

This question covers Eligibility Criterion 2: Projects must have clearly identified potential to deliver a net benefit to consumers (whomever is paying for the innovation), as outlined in chapter 2 of the SIF Governance Document.

Question 7: Impacts and benefits description

For all of the SIF benefits identified in Impacts and benefits selection question, you must:

describe what the current position (pre-innovation baseline) is, and the metrics that will be used to report on these
provide an initial forecast of the quantified or qualitied cumulative net benefits to energy consumers to be realised, calculated at a network partner level, should the innovation be implemented into business as usual
describe, quantify, or qualify any benefits already realised through project delivery

If you have stated ‘other’ in Impacts and benefits selection question, you must also describe any other impacts and benefits your Project is looking to deliver. These must be against a business as usual counterfactual, over and above those identified in the Impacts and benefits selection question (such as social, environmental or wider energy supply resilience benefits).

Question 8: Team and resources

Who is in the Project team and what are their roles and responsibilities?

You must explain:

why you chose your Project Partners and subcontractors, indicating if this is a new or pre-existing relationship
the roles, skills and experience of each Project Partner or subcontractor to deliver their part of the Project
the resources, equipment and facilities needed for the current phase of the Project and how you will access them
the details of any other external parties, network users or consumers who are vital for the successful delivery of the current phase of this Project

This question covers Eligibility Criterion 6: Projects must include participation from a range of stakeholders, as outlined in chapter 2 of the SIF Governance Document.

Question 9: Project management and delivery

How will you manage your Project effectively? What is your Project plan? What are your milestones? What are the risks associated with your Project?

You must explain:

your approach to project management, identifying any major tools and mechanisms you will use to get a successful and innovative Project outcome
any links or dependencies between work packages or milestones
your risk management strategy
any specific risks in relation to policy and regulatory challenges to deployment, derogations and requests for changes in regulation that the Project is aware of for the Discovery Phase and any future Phases
any planned or potential unplanned supply interruptions for consumers, the steps the Project has taken to avoid or investigate how to avoid supply interruptions, and how the Project will ensure consumers have access to the energy services they require
any interaction or engagement with energy consumers or any impact the Project may have on existing or future energy consumers and their premises

Using the Project Management template (PMT), please outline your Project approach. The Project Management template can be found within the SharePoint folder.

You must download the PMT and complete all the worksheets:

Key Info worksheet: you must add a key contact for each Project Partner and subcontractors, where applicable.

Project Plan worksheet:

describe the objectives, tasks, milestones and deliverables for each work package of your Project
indicate which work package is meeting which of the Innovation Challenge aims and focus areas
indicate the lead partner or subcontractor, where appropriate, and the SIF Funding allocated to each work package
indicate the relevant success criteria for each stage-gate, milestone and deliverable, where applicable

Risk Register worksheet:

describe the main risks and uncertainties which may hinder the successful delivery of the Project, such as technical, political, policy, regulatory barriers, potential supply interruptions, commercial, managerial, and environmental factors
explain how you will mitigate these risks and who will be responsible for the mitigation actions

You must upload the completed Project Management template as an appendix to this question in support of your full application.

The template must be uploaded as an Excel spreadsheet no larger than 10MB in size. The font must be in 11 point font size.

You must also upload a Gantt chart to support your response for this question. It must be uploaded as a separate tab in your Project management template.

This question covers Eligibility Criterion 8: Projects must be well thought through and have a robust methodology so that they are capable of progressing in a timely manner, as outlined in chapter 2 of the SIF Governance Document.

Question 10: Key outputs and dissemination

What are the expected key outputs of your Project and your plan for disseminating them along with any lessons learned?

You must describe:

what you want to achieve by the end of your Project’s Discovery Phase
who within the Project team will be responsible for each key output and planned dissemination activity
how and where you intend to disseminate your key outputs and lessons learned
how your Project will not undermine the development of competitive markets

This question covers Eligibility Criterion 4: Projects must not undermine the development of competitive markets, as outlined in chapter 2 of the SIF Governance Document.

Question 11: Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) (not scored)

Although a default Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) arrangement is set out in the SIF Governance Document, Ofgem is willing to consider alternative IPR arrangements on a case-by-case basis.

You must state whether you are using the default arrangement or any alternative arrangement as your response to this question.

If applicable, you must set out and justify any proposed alternative IPR arrangements for the Discovery phase.

For information on the default Intellectual Property Rights for SIF Projects, see Chapter 9 in the SIF Governance Document.

Question 12: Investment Needs (not scored)

List out any other sources of UK Government funds or innovation funds which has informed this application. Examples may include but are not limited to NIA, NIC, UKRI, European funding, IFI and private investment. This should also include applications pending approval.

Include details of the type of funding, the amount received, the name of the project that received the funding and a brief description of the project.

Question 13: Value for money

How much will the Project cost for the Discovery Phase and how does it represent value for money for the consumer?

You must describe:

the total Project costs, the amount of SIF funding requested and how the costs and SIF funding for the Project is balanced across the Project partners
how your Project will meet the minimum 10% compulsory contribution from private funds
how each Project Partner will finance their contributions to the Project
any subcontractor costs and why they are critical to the Project
any additional funding coming from other innovation funds
any use of pre-existing assets or facilities
any plans for commercialisation of the proposed innovation and how the Project can be moved into business as usual

This question covers Eligibility Criterion 7: Projects must provide value for money and be costed competitively, as outlined in chapter 2 of the SIF Governance Document.

3. Finances

Each organisation in your Project must complete their own Discovery Phase project costs, organisation details and funding details in the application exclusive of VAT.

Assessment

Your application will be reviewed by three independent assessors based on the content of your application and their skills or expertise relevant to your Project. All of the scores awarded will count towards the total score used to make the funding decision unless you are notified otherwise.

Your submitted application will be assessed against the eligibility criteria set out in the SIF Governance Document.

Background and further information

Strategic Innovation Fund context

Ofgem recognises that innovation will continue to play a crucial role in delivering best value to energy consumers. Innovation will prepare the regulated energy network companies to deliver net zero greenhouse gas emissions at lowest cost to consumers, while maintaining world-class levels of system reliability and customer service, and ensuring no consumer is left behind.

The Strategic Innovation Fund (SIF) has been introduced under the regulated price control mechanism for the Electricity System Operator, Electricity Transmission, Gas Transmission, Gas Distribution and Electricity Distribution sectors.

The SIF seeks to support energy network innovation that contributes to the achievement of net zero, while delivering real net benefits to network consumers and supporting innovative businesses to grow and scale. It is delivered in partnership with UKRI, who will work with other funders of innovation so that activities appropriately funded by network consumers are coordinated with activities delivered through other funding providers.

Strategic Innovation Fund competitions will continue to be developed in collaboration with input from the energy networks, innovators, Government, and wider industry. With competitions focussing innovation on the most pressing challenges facing the sector.

The requirements for energy networks and other organisations that wish to participate in the SIF are outlined in the SIF Governance Document.

Benefits to consumers

Potential benefits to consumers as defined by Ofgem may be:

cost savings
delivering new products, processes, and services
improving products, processes, and services
enhancing their wellbeing
helping consumers access new or existing markets or revenue streams more easily, for example increasing the share of renewable generators contributing to energy markets, or providing granular information services on locational network capacity

About Ofgem competitions

The Ofgem Strategic Innovation Fund (SIF) programme is a multi-year programme which will deliver competitions with varying scope requirements sharing a common focus on energy network innovation.

Future phases

The Alpha Phase of a Project will focus on preparing and testing the different solutions to the problem identified during the Discovery Phase, ahead of any future large-scale demonstration of the Project. It will also include testing of the riskiest assumptions.

The Beta Phase of a Project focuses on the deployment of the solution to the problem and the duration of the Beta Phase will depend on the scale and complexity of the solution deployed. Beta Phases will range between six months and five years and represent the largest scale phase of the Project.

Further help and information

If you have any questions about the scope requirements of this competition, email SIF_Ofgem@iuk.ukri.org or join our optional applicant drop-in sessions on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 3pm.

Briefing slides

Briefing slides are available to download here.

SIF060_SIFProgramme_Applicant Briefing Slides_.pdf (opens in a new window)

If your application is successful

If you are successful with this application, you will be asked to set up your project.

You will be notified by email on the date published for this competition. Notifications may be sent any time up to 5pm.

You must follow the unique link embedded in your email notification. This takes you to your Innovation Funding Service (IFS) Set Up portal, where we gather the information to set up your project.

Following your email notification, you will need to provide the following within five days (including weekends and bank holidays):

the name and contact details of your project manager and project finance lead
a finance contact for all partners

You will have 30 days (including weekends and bank holidays) to complete all of your project set up. Within this time, you will also be required to submit:

project location
any answers to financial queries we have requested

Your Project Direction

Once you have successfully completed project setup, we will issue your Project Direction.

The document will be made available on your IFS portal. You will need to sign and upload this for us to approve.

You must not start your project before the date stated on your email and Project Direction. Any costs incurred before your agreed start date cannot be claimed as part of your funding.

If your application is unsuccessful

If you are unsuccessful with your application this time, we will notify you and provide feedback.

Data sharing

This competition is jointly operated by Innovate UK, in coordination with Ofgem and the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (each an 'agency').

Any relevant information submitted and produced during the application process concerning your application can be shared by one agency with the other, for its individual storage, processing and use.

This means that any information given to or generated by Innovate UK in respect of your application may be passed on to Ofgem and the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, and vice versa. This would include, but is not restricted to:

the information stated on the application, including the personal details of all applicants
scoring and feedback on the application
information received during the management and administration of the grant, such as Monitoring Service Provider (MSP) reports and Independent Accountant Reports

Innovate UK, Ofgem and the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero are directly accountable to you for their holding and processing of your information, including any personal data and confidential information. Data is held in accordance with their own policies. Accordingly, Innovate UK, Innovate UK Business Connect, Ofgem and the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero will be data controllers for personal data submitted during the application.

Innovate UK’s Privacy Policy

Innovate UK Business Connect Privacy Policy

Ofgem’s Privacy Policy

Department for Energy Security and Net Zero Privacy Policy

Innovate UK complies with the requirements of UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018, and is committed to upholding data protection legislation, and protecting your information in accordance with data protection principles.

The Information Commissioner’s Office also has a useful guide for organisations, which outlines the data protection principles.

Contact us

If you need more information about how to apply or you want to submit your application in Welsh, email support@iuk.ukri.org or call 0300 321 4357.

Our phone lines are open from 9am to 12pm and 2pm to 5pm UK time, Monday to Friday (excluding bank holidays).

Innovate UK or any of our partners will not tolerate abusive language in any written or verbal correspondence, applications, social media or any other form that might affect staff.

Need help with this service? Contact us