Sixteen projects investigating technologies and approaches to accelerate electricity infrastructure delivery, decarbonise homes, improve network resilience and integrate low-carbon gases have secured a combined £16.2 million through Ofgem’s Strategic Innovation Fund (SIF).
Announced on 8 October, the funding covers projects at discovery, alpha and beta stages, ranging from early feasibility investigations to more advanced technology development and demonstration. The SIF is delivered by Innovate UK in partnership with energy regulator Ofgem, with the aim of supporting innovation that can help Britain’s gas and electricity networks transition towards net zero.
The awards include two substantial beta-stage projects, accounting for approximately £12.1 million of the total.
The largest, Net Zero Terrace, has received £7.19 million to develop and demonstrate an approach to decarbonising Britain’s estimated six million terraced homes. Led by Electricity North West, the project involves partners including Northern Powergrid, Buro Happold, UK Power Networks and Greater Manchester Combined Authority.
The project aims to establish a solution that can be replicated across communities, addressing some of the technical and practical difficulties associated with upgrading older housing stock for low-carbon heating and electricity use.
A further £4.95 million has been awarded to DELLTA (Design for Live Line Technology Acceleration), led by National Grid Electricity Transmission. The project is exploring techniques for working on high-voltage electricity infrastructure while it remains energised, potentially enabling maintenance and upgrades without interrupting supplies or incurring the costs associated with taking assets out of service.
Digital tools and green gas
Other awards focus on improving the planning, operation and flexibility of energy networks.
The £454,000 RAPID (Routing and Planning through Interoperable Data) project, led by Scottish Hydro Electric Transmission, will develop a shared framework for exchanging transmission network data. By improving interoperability between organisations and planning systems, the project aims to reduce duplication and delays in routing, design and consenting processes.
Green Gas Access, led by Southern Gas Networks, has secured approximately £595,000 to investigate ways of increasing the amount of biomethane that can be accommodated within Britain’s gas networks. The project will examine how network operators can better understand, plan for and manage low-carbon gas supplies.
Another project, DISPATCH (Data-Integrated Systems for Power Transmission and Community Heat), will investigate opportunities to locate data centres where their low-temperature waste heat could be recovered for use in community heat networks. It will also examine how revenue from electricity flexibility services might be shared with heat networks, potentially improving the economics of integrated energy infrastructure.
Meanwhile, Roaming MPANs will explore a system allowing electric vehicle drivers to access their household electricity accounts and tariffs when charging away from home, potentially making public charging more flexible and affordable.
Projects examining network resilience include SOS Racer, which will assess how distributed generation and demand-side flexibility could contribute to electricity security of supply and reduce the likelihood or impact of outages.
A coordinated approach
The latest funding cycle also marks the beginning of a new approach to organising energy network innovation around Ofgem’s long-term challenges for 2026–2033.
Five Innovation Delivery Groups, bringing together network operators, policymakers and technical specialists, will coordinate activity across the challenges. Each has received funding to develop an Innovation Charter, setting out priorities, identifying barriers to deployment and establishing measures of progress.
The charters are expected to be published in January 2027.
Jodie Giles, Deputy Director of the Ofgem Strategic Innovation Fund at Innovate UK, said the programme was intended to move promising technologies towards practical deployment.
“In this round we aren’t just funding projects, but a new operating model that is changing the culture of energy network innovation.”
The programme’s longer-term ambitions include connecting major industrial and commercial customers within six months by 2033, delivering network infrastructure 50% faster and 20% more cheaply by 2035, and achieving near-zero supply interruptions through autonomous network reconfiguration and islanding by 2038.
These remain targets rather than demonstrated outcomes. The projects funded in this cycle will investigate and develop some of the technologies and approaches needed to achieve them.
Notes
[1] Innovate UK / UK Research and Innovation, Ofgem SIF backs solutions for Britain’s biggest energy challenges, 8 October 2026. Includes project descriptions, funding awards and participating organisations.
[2] Ofgem, Strategic Innovation Fund: Cycle 6 projects funding decisions, September 2026.
