Ofgem Strategic Innovation Fund round five discovery C7
Ofgem Strategic Innovation Fund round five discovery C7 supports energy networks and collaborators with discovery projects exploring whole-system optimisation to achieve net zero at lowest cost to consumers.
Funder: UK Research and Innovation
Due Dates: October 21, 2026, 11:00am UK time (Competition closes)
Funding Amounts: Up to £200,000 per Discovery project, exclusive of VAT; up to £30 million across seven challenges
Summary: Supports collaborative discovery projects addressing energy network challenges and delivering net zero at lowest cost to consumers.
Key Information: Only Ofgem-licensed gas or electricity networks or NESO can lead; challenge-specific partners are required.
Description
Innovate UK delivers this competition in partnership with Ofgem, with funding from the Ofgem Strategic Innovation Fund (SIF). It supports collaborative Discovery Phase projects addressing Round 5 energy network challenges, with the goal of achieving net zero at lowest cost to consumers while supporting innovative businesses to grow and scale.
Discovery defines the problem, the value of solving it, consumers’ and network users’ needs, and relevant constraints. Projects must plan a pathway through live testing in Alpha, large-scale demonstration in Beta, and deployment of a proven solution into business as usual. Proposals must focus on innovation benefiting Great Britain’s energy network infrastructure, consumers, operation and utilisation, and demonstrate potential consumer or whole-system benefits.
