en.Wedoany.com Reported - Five transmission and distribution network innovation projects led by National Grid will proceed to the next phase after receiving over £1 million in funding from the UK Office of Gas and Electricity Markets (Ofgem) Strategic Innovation Fund (SIF).
The funding will support early-stage projects from feasibility studies to testing and development, driving innovation and helping the UK energy network adapt to the clean energy transition. These projects span the Discovery and Alpha phases of the SIF program, covering multiple areas including exploring faster grid connections for data centers through flexible demand, using advanced modeling techniques to improve network planning, applying artificial intelligence for more effective asset monitoring, developing scalable solutions for marine habitat restoration, and creating digital tools to connect community energy groups with renewable energy developers. National Grid stated that as electricity demand rises (partly driven by data center growth and electrification), these projects aim to help the network adapt more quickly and efficiently while maintaining reliability and reducing consumer costs.
National Grid Electricity Transmission (NGET) has secured funding for two Discovery phase projects. The FLARE project (Fast, Flexible, Large Asset Rapid Energisation) received £124,391, led by NGET in collaboration with the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), exploring how large electricity users (including data centers) can connect to the grid faster by introducing flexible demand arrangements, and assessing the potential of flexible consumption to unlock additional network capacity, drawing on methods such as EPRI's DCFlex framework to develop a standard framework for reducing connection times. The PROMUPS project (Probabilistic Methods for Uncertainty in Power Systems) received £138,674, led by NGET in partnership with WSP and the University of Edinburgh, researching new probabilistic modeling approaches for network planning to improve handling of demand and generation uncertainty, supporting more efficient network capacity allocation.
Two other projects received Alpha phase funding. The FoSMo project (Foundation Source Model) received £355,985, led by NGET in collaboration with DScience Ltd (Keen AI), SP Electricity North West, UK Power Networks, SP Energy Networks, and Scottish Hydro Electric Transmission, developing and testing shared artificial intelligence models for transmission and distribution network asset monitoring, aiming to improve fault detection, reliability, and operational efficiency through shared data and AI models. The AMPERES project (Automated Marine Plant Ecosystem Restoration for Energy Supply) received £456,027, led by NGET in partnership with the Ocean Conservation Trust, Land and Water, Robocean, and DNV, trialing automated and robotic methods for large-scale seagrass meadow restoration to support environmental requirements related to offshore power infrastructure.
National Grid Electricity Distribution received £147,000 for its Discovery phase "Matchmaker" project. Led by National Grid Electricity Distribution in partnership with Regen and TPZ Impact, the project aims to pioneer a UK-first study into creating a digital tool that connects community energy groups with wind farm, solar, and battery storage developers, helping plans progress faster and at lower cost while supporting community ownership. Project lead Jenny Woodruff stated that connecting developers and community groups through a simple digital tool can lead to more successful projects and greater community ownership.
National Grid has recently launched other innovation initiatives, including Dynamic Line Rating (DLR) to identify spare capacity on existing transmission lines, the Emerald AI trial (demonstrating how AI-driven data centers can flexibly adjust electricity demand by up to 40% within one minute in response to real-time grid signals), and deploying sees.ai's autonomous drone technology for overhead line data collection to support smarter inspection and maintenance. Neil McClymont, Head of Innovation at National Grid Electricity Transmission, said innovation is essential to keep pace with the evolving demands of the electricity network, from supporting faster connections for large users like data centers to improving system planning and operation, these projects will help build a smarter, more flexible, and more resilient network.
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