National Grid projects win funding for transmission and distribution innovation

Three National Grid projects developing electricity transmission and distribution network innovations will continue their work after securing £15.3 million ($20.2 million) from the next stage of Ofgem’s Strategic Innovation Fund (SIF) programme.

The projects, one from National Grid Electricity Transmission and two more from National Grid Electricity Distribution, are being funded through the SIF’s Beta Phase, which allows for the testing of innovation at a scale that can support future commercialisation and integration into the UK energy networks.

The former aims to develop a long-term strategy to remove the electrical insulating gas SF6 from the network whereas the two from National Grid Distribution aim to develop digital tools to share data and address potential load imbalance across phases in the distribution network, respectively.

Commenting on the projects in a release was Sean Coleman, Strategic Innovation Fund manager at National Grid Electricity Transmission: “Innovation of new technologies and solutions is critical to meeting our decarbonisation goals and delivering the UK’s ambition for a net zero energy system.

“This funding represents a major opportunity for us to reduce and eventually eliminate our dependency on the greenhouse gas SF6, to deepen our understanding of SF6-free technologies and maintain the world-class reliability of our network.

“This is a key example of how National Grid and its partners in industry and academia are working together to solve some of the sector’s biggest challenges and drive forward the energy transition at pace.”

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SF6 whole life strategy

The first of the three projects is from National Grid Electricity Transmission (NGET), which has been awarded £8.5 million ($11.2 million) for a project that will help develop a net zero electricity network by creating a long-term strategy to remove electrical insulating gas SF6 from the network.

The project, known as SF6 whole life strategy, will develop an economic, efficient, holistic replacement and management strategy for the greenhouse gas sulphur hexafluoride (SF6).

Project partners include the University of Manchester, SSEN Transmission, SP Energy Networks, DNV, DILO and WIKA.

Planning Regional Infrastructure in a Digital Environment (PRIDE)

The second project is National Grid Electricity Distribution’s project PRIDE, which has been awarded £3.7 million ($4.9 million) to support local decision-making on regional energy planning for net zero on a single digital platform.

In partnership with the West Midlands Combined Authority, Advanced Infrastructure Technology, Regen and National Grid ESO, the PRIDE project focuses on using digital tools to share data and work more closely with local authorities on an integrated approach to planning and connecting low carbon technologies.

Network data (on factors such as capacity) will give local authorities greater insight when drawing up their Local Area Energy Plans and enable them to plan projects and investment in energy, transport, heating and housing.

In return, National Grid Electricity Distribution will obtain data from local authorities to help plan and deliver network development and reinforcement where it’s needed most to ensure the network is ready ahead of need.

The project will start in November 2024.

Phase Switch System

National Grid Distribution’s second project to win funding is that of the Phase Switch System (PSS), awarded £3.1 million ($4.1 million) to address potential load imbalances across the distribution network as more customers opt for low carbon technologies, such as heat pumps and EVs.

By automatically minimising phase imbalance, the PSS system aims to maximise the capacity of the network allowing for more low-carbon technology to be added to the network before network reinforcement is required.

This means that National Grid Electricity Distribution can utilise its resource for LV reinforcement more efficiently at a time when workload is expected to increase.

The additional benefits of the Phase Switch System, says National Grid, include fewer outages caused by phase imbalance, resulting in reduced service visits and an improved customer experience.

Said Paul Morris, head of Future Capacity at National Grid Electricity Distribution: “National Grid Electricity Distribution is committed to driving innovation and collaboration to accelerate the transition to a sustainable energy future.

“The funding awards from the Ofgem Strategic Innovation Fund recognise the huge potential in both of these projects, and will enable us to further develop and deploy these cutting-edge solutions that contribute to achieving net zero and improving customer experience.”