36 energy network innovation projects funded in GB

36 network innovation projects have been awarded a total of £16 million (US$19.5 million) by Britain’s energy regulator Ofgem to advance to the next level from feasibility.

With funding of up to £500,000 per project, the aim is to advance network and other electricity and gas transmission and distribution innovations to a level from where they can go on to become a demonstrator and thereafter into commercial development.

The four ‘challenges’ the projects are addressing are:

• Supporting a just energy transition for all parts of society – 5 projects, four electricity, one gas.
• Preparing for a net zero power system – 6 projects, four electricity, two gas.
• Improving energy system resilience and robustness in the face of increasing natural risks and other hazards – 14 projects, 11 electricity, three gas
• Accelerating decarbonisation of major energy demands, in particular heat and transport – 11 projects, all electricity.

“Innovative solutions that deliver resilience, reliability and affordability at pace are essential in achieving Great Britain’s target of clean power by 2035,” says Marzia Zafar, Deputy Director of Digitalisation and Innovation at Ofgem.

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“This latest funding round will help innovators develop their ideas further and deliver the transformative technologies needed to drive forward the energy transition at least cost to consumers.”

The projects are those that have successfully demonstrated feasibility in the earlier initial funding round.

Three net zero projects for National Grid

Among the projects National Grid has been awarded £1.3 million to lead three of them.

National Grid Electricity Transmission has been awarded £875,000 for two projects, respectively ‘SF6 whole life strategy’ to develop a long-term strategy to remove electrical insulating gas SF6 from the network and the ‘Wellness’ project to development a resilience vulnerability assessment for the whole electricity system in Great Britain.

National Grid Electricity Distribution has been awarded £499,874 for the ‘Pride’ project in partnership with West Midlands Combined Authority and Advanced Infrastructure to investigate integrating datasets from a variety of sources on a single digital platform to support local decision-making on regional energy planning for net zero.

Both companies also will be collaborating with National Grid’s electricity system operator on a separately funded ‘Powering Wales Renewably’ project to accelerate low carbon energy in Wales.

They also will collaborate respectively on the Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks-led ‘React’ project to create a low carbon energy geographical planning tool and with Wales and West Utilities on the ‘NextGen Electrolysis’ project to advance the use of wastewater rather than high purity water for hydrogen production.

Sean Coleman, Strategic Innovation Fund Manager at National Grid Electricity Transmission, said the funding is enabling the progress of a handful of exciting innovation projects.

“These projects are a great example of how National Grid and its partners in industry and academia are tackling some of energy’s biggest challenges with ambitious thinking.”

The Ofgem funding is from the Strategic Innovation Fund with up to £450 million over five years to promote energy network innovation.

Projects from this round will then be eligible to apply for the third ‘beta’ level funding to put in place large-scale demonstrators.