en.Wedoany.com Reported - The UK Energy Regulator (Ofgem) and Innovate UK have provided a total of £22.9 million in funding for 18 energy innovation projects through the fifth round of the Strategic Innovation Fund.

This round of funding includes 8 discovery projects (receiving £1 million), 7 alpha projects (receiving £3.2 million), and 3 beta projects (receiving £18.7 million).

These projects address multiple challenges facing the UK energy network, covering areas such as managing uncertainties in renewable energy generation and demand changes, as well as accelerating the connection of large loads like data centers to the grid through flexible demand approaches.

Among the discovery projects, the "Robotics Integration for Sustainable Energy" project, led by Scottish & Southern Electricity Distribution, will use robots to support faster and safer work practices, improve operations, and reduce disruptions to customers.

The "Green Molecule Project," led by Southern Gas, will explore new pathways to decarbonize the gas network through synthetic methane production and seasonal energy storage.

In the alpha phase, UK Power Networks is leading the "Neighbourhood Watts" project, a community-led local energy balancing model aimed at lowering bills, supporting the network, and expanding participation in low-carbon energy systems.

National Grid is also leading the AMPERES project, which will test robotic seagrass planting to make marine habitat restoration safer, more cost-effective, and more scalable during the expansion of offshore grid infrastructure.

Beta projects include "Fractal Flow," led by Northern Powergrid, which is developing near-real-time digital twins to improve coordination and situational awareness between control rooms.

The National Energy System Operator (NESO) is leading two beta projects: "Network Security in a Quantum Future," which will map the impact of emerging quantum-related network risks on energy assets; and FastPress, a decision-support tool for long-term planning, operation, and repurposing of the UK gas transmission network.

Marzia Zafar, Deputy Director of Digitalization and Innovation at Ofgem, said: "The latest SIF investment marks a significant step in accelerating the pace of innovation needed to transform the energy system."

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