The UK is experiencing an increase in energy-intensity demand on the grid, driven by the expansion of AI clusters, data centres and industrial decarbonisation efforts. These sectors are not only critical for technological advancement but also for regional economic development, attracting investment and supporting job creation. However, difficulties in forecasting demand and implementing flexible demand management, and slow grid connection processes and infrastructure constraints pose significant barriers to integrating these large, concentrated loads efficiently. If industries and digital infrastructure continue facing these challenges, GB risks stalling regional growth, limiting innovation, and falling behind in global competitiveness. To unlock economic potential, network capacity must be expanded through more agile, scalable, and sustainable approaches.
Through focusing on this challenge, SIF aims to:
- Reduce the risk of stranded capacity by improving grid planning and forecasting to better anticipate and allocate capacity for high-energy demand centres.
- Reduce peak demand and optimise network capacity by implementing flexible demand management and real-time coordination of large, continuous loads.
- Accelerate grid connection processes to reduce delays while ensuring fair and efficient access for different types of demand centres.
This workshop, taking place as part of the 'All-Energy Confernce' will bring together innovators, industry experts, network professionals, and other relevant stakeholders in a collaborative environment to share insights and ideate approaches to address the challenges and barriers to accelerating the deployment of scalable energy demand integration solutions.
Please join us to contribute to the conversation, meet other inspiring innovators, and explore collaboration opportunities. The workshop aims to broker relationships and generate ideas that could be further developed into SIF proposals.
The workshop will take place as part of the All-Energy Exhibition and Conference in Glasgow, Scotland. Attendants will require a separate registration for the main event, which is free. We will confirm room details closer to the date.
About the Ofgem Strategic Innovation Fund
The Ofgem Strategic Innovation Fund was established in 2021, as a programme with funding of £450m+ over five years, to drive innovation and transformation in energy networks. By the end of 2024, the programme has committed over £270m in total funding across 234 projects in different stages of development (Discovery, Alpha, Beta).
Ofgem and InnovateUK recently launched Round 5 of the Strategic Innovation Fund (SIF) to address strategic energy sector needs. For more information, please visit the SIF website here: Strategic Innovation Fund (SIF) | Ofgem.
Who is this workshop for?
- Large energy users (e.g. industry, manufacturing, data centres, and others)
- Energy networks and network planners
Please note that the capacity for the workshop is limited and attendance will be confirmed after registration. A document with a detailed agenda and further background on the challenge will be sent to participants ahead of the event.
Please use your work email address to register so we can contact you about Carbon Trust-managed events in a GDPR compliant way.
This event is hosted by the Carbon Trust on behalf of Innovate UK in support of Strategic Innovation Fund (SIF) Round 5 Ideation Activity. By submitting this event registration form, you are agreeing for your personal data to be shared with the Carbon Trust and Innovate UK for the purpose of registering you for this event and contacting you regarding ideation workshops and other support activities.
Your personal data will be held in accordance with the data protection policies of Innovate UK and the Carbon Trust. Innovate UK will be the data controller for personal data submitted through this form and Carbon Trust will be its data processor.
For more details, Innovate UK’s Privacy Policy and UK Research and Innovation's Privacy Policy are accessible below:
https://www.ukri.org/publications/innovate-uk-privacy-notice-and-information-management-policy/
https://www.ukri.org/who-we-are/privacy-notice/
Carbon Trust’s Privacy Notice is accessible here: https://www.carbontrust.com/privacy
This workshop will be run in person and photographs may be taken. Please let us know if you’d like not to have your photograph taken ahead of the event..
If you have any questions, concerns or require further clarification, please contact us via SIF_Ofgem@iuk.ukri.org.
