Ofgem and Innovate UK have announced the challenge areas for the second round of innovation funding under the Strategic Innovation Fund (SIF), which opens for applications in early September 2022

The SIF aims to find and fund ambitious, innovative energy network projects with the potential to accelerate the transition to net zero at the lowest cost to consumers. Four innovation challenge areas have now been identified as the priorities for this year’s project proposals to address.

Chosen in consultation with the energy industry and consumers, the four challenge areas, which incorporate a focus on transport, heat, data and integration across the whole gas and electricity system, are:

Supporting a just energy transition

Preparing for a net zero power system

Improving energy system resilience and robustness

Accelerating decarbonisation of major energy demands

With these priorities as the focus, the programme will open an initial ‘discovery’ phase in September, when energy companies working with other innovators and partners can apply for £150,000 to develop their ideas.

After the discovery phase, the projects judged to have the greatest potential will be awarded up to £500,000 to develop further. The eventual aim is to generate innovations which can be rolled out across all UK energy networks, making them fit for the future and delivering benefits for both consumers and the planet.

• Read the full story on the Innovate UK website
• Read more about the scope of the innovation challenges
• Attend the launch briefing for the challenges and the Round 2 competition
• Attend ‘show and tell’ sessions presenting the findings from SIF Round 1 projects