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Collaborate with us as part of our Strategic Innovation Fund Discovery Round 3

Future energy /

30 Aug 2023 - 2 minute read

Are you an innovator and want to collaborate with us? If so, we’re inviting you to respond to our Open Call to collaborate on developing Discovery project proposals for Round 3 of the Strategic Innovation Fund (SIF).  

What is the Strategic Innovation Fund?

The Strategic Innovation Fund (SIF) was set up by Ofgem and UKRI, designed to drive innovation to transform gas and electricity networks for a low-carbon future while aligning with other public innovation funding for the benefit of network users and consumers. SIF funding was launched in 2021 and is expected to invest £450 million by 2026. 

SIF is a funding mechanism for the ESO which is part of the RIIO-2 price controls set by Ofgem, bounding us to deliver reliable, zero carbon energy in Great Britain.

Find out more about SIF here.

Discovery round three

In May 2023, Ofgem announced new SIF Innovation Challenges with a call for project ideas to address them in the next Discovery funding application (November 2023). We’ve worked with subject matter experts from across the ESO to explore these Innovation Challenges and identify our focus areas. These focus areas include:

  • Quantum Safe Cryptography 
  • Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) 
  • Long Duration Energy Storage (LDES) 
  • Network Modelling 
  • Consumer profiles 

View our SIF Discovery Round 3 Open Call for more detail. 

How to get involved

There are two ways you can respond to our Open Call. For each focus area you can either submit a project idea or express an interest in being a project partner. The deadline to respond is 5pm on 13 September for your submission to be considered by our Innovation team for potential submission to Ofgem’s SIF Discovery Round 3. For more detail on how to respond to our Open Call, click here.

Want to learn more?

Join our webinar on 6 September at 2pm to learn more about our Open Call. During the webinar you’ll hear an overview of each focus area, the process of responding and you can ask any questions you may have. 

Sign up here

To find out more, visit our dedicated webpage.