How can we deliver grid expansion in consumer-centric ways?

The UK's transition to net-zero requires rapid expansion of electricity transmission and distribution infrastructure to support growing renewable generation and electrification demand. To ensure grid expansion progresses at the pace required for decarbonisation, more commercially viable, technologically advanced, and consumer-aligned approaches must be adopted. Balancing technical feasibility, cost-effectiveness, and public acceptability is crucial but presents challenges. Innovative solutions should minimise disruption, reduce visual impact, and integrate with the energy system needs. Enhancing public trust and linking grid expansion to local benefits can improve public perceptions and accelerate project approvals. Combining technological innovation, scalable solutions, and consumer-centric approaches will ensure a just and inclusive energy transition.

Through focusing on this challenge, SIF aims to:

• Accelerate grid expansion by developing solutions that improve public support and reduce opposition to new infrastructure.
• Identify and test scalable technical innovations that minimise visual and spatial impacts, addressing common distribution-level constraints.
• Explore multi-vector and alternative grid expansion approaches to reduce reliance on traditional reinforcements while enhancing system resilience.
• Advance community engagement strategies that build trust, improve transparency, and integrate local priorities into grid planning.
• Align regulatory, commercial, and policy mechanisms to support faster, more publicly acceptable approaches to transmission and distribution upgrades.
• Deliver local financial, societal, and environmental benefits through infrastructure planning that aligns grid expansion with broader regional development goals.

This webinar will set the context for this challenge theme and provide useful references and examples on how this challenge plays out in practice. It will bring together innovators, industry experts, network professionals, and other relevant stakeholders to share insights and create a common understanding of challenges and barriers to accelerating the deployment of scalable consumer-centric grid expansion solutions.

Please join us to learn more about the challenge theme and contribute to the conversation. The webinar will also be followed by a collaborative workshop to ideate potential solutions and bring partners together. To register your interest in attending this workshop, please see the following link: How can we deliver grid expansion in consumer-centric ways? Tickets, Tue, May 20, 2025 at 3:00 PM | Eventbrite

About the 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 Innovate UK 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

Webinar agenda:

• Overview of the challenge

• Overview of the SIF process and requirements

• Expert deep dives on the challenge, including industry case studies

• Examples of current innovations in the space

• Q&A with our expert panel

Who is this webinar for?

• Research institutions

• Consumer representative organisations

• Local authorities

• Energy networks and network planners

• Technology providers

• Infrastructure providers

• Utilities

• Policy experts

• Regulatory specialists

We look forward to seeing you there!

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.

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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 webinar will be run on Microsoft Teams. Participant details such as names may be visible to all attendees. The webinar will be recorded and an edited version will also be made available on a video sharing platform by CT and/or IUK. Participant names may appear in the recording. By registering for this event, you are happy for your details to be visible.

If you have any questions, concerns or require further clarification, please contact us via SIF_Ofgem@iuk.ukri.org.