Grant News

Ofgem has announced that Cycle 7 of the Strategic Innovation Fund (SIF) is open for applications until 22 October 2026. The £450 million fund supports innovative projects that could help transform Great Britain’s gas and electricity networks and accelerate the transition to net zero at the lowest cost to consumers.

Ofgem, Great Britain’s independent energy regulator, operates the fund in partnership with Innovate UK. Funding supports the development and testing of new products, services and business models addressing strategic energy network challenges.

Previous rounds have funded robotics for network maintenance, hydrogen production and storage, AI and digital network technologies, community-led energy balancing, grid capacity and connections, cybersecurity, predictive maintenance and solutions for integrating electric vehicles and other high-energy demand.

Key points include:

• projects must be led by an Ofgem-licensed electricity or gas distribution network, transmission operator or the National Energy System Operator based in England, Scotland and Wales;;
• technology companies, universities and other organisations can participate as project partners;
• Cycle 7 covers Discovery, Alpha, Beta and Deployment phases, depending on the relevant innovation challenge;
• projects can address areas including faster network development, connections, resilience and local energy balancing;
• partnership applications must be submitted by the energy licence holder.

Applications must be submitted through the Innovation Funding Service by 22 October 2026. Further cycles are scheduled for 25 January to 24 February 2027 and 24 May to 23 June 2027.

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