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 workshop 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 consumer-centric grid expansion solutions.
This event will be in person and is part of the Utility Week Live conference in Birmingham on 20-21 May. Attendants will require a separate registration for the main event, which is free. We will confirm room details closer to the date.
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.
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 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.
Who is this workshop for?
- Consumer representative organisations
- 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 held in person. Photographs may be taken during the workshop. If you’d like your photograph not to be taken, please let us know ahead of the event.
If you have any questions, concerns or require further clarification, please contact us via SIF_Ofgem@iuk.ukri.org.
