Deadline: 25-Jun-25
The Discovery C3 Ofgem Strategic Innovation Fund competition is delivered by Innovate UK 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.
Challenges
- There are four challenge areas in the Discovery Phase:
- Challenge 1: Faster network development
- Challenge 2: Greater heat flexibility
- Challenge 3: Embedding resilience
- Challenge 4: Accelerating towards net zero energy networks
Specific 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 point 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
- Challenge 1: Faster Network Deployment:
Funding Information
- Your Discovery Phase Project must have a total requested funding of no more than £150,000, exclusive of VAT.
Eligibility Criteria
- This competition is open to collaborative applications only.
- The award will not give an economic advantage to one or more organisations, and you must not be acting economically as an organisation within the meaning of the act.
- 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 September 2025
- end by 31 January 2026
- be completed within the five-month window
- Lead organisation
- To lead a Discovery Phase Project, you must:
- be an Ofgem licensed gas distribution network, gas transmission, electricity transmission, electricity distribution, or electricity system operator (ESO)
- work with at least one other organisation as a Project Partner
- To lead a Discovery Phase Project, you must:
- Project Partners
- Each Discovery Phase 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: you 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
For more information, visit Innovate UK.
