The Ultimate Guide TO INNOVATING WITH THE UK ENERGY NETWORKS
The UK has committed to ambitious targets of decarbonising the electricity system by 2030 and being carbon neutral by 2050. The energy networks have a key role to play in progressing towards these targets and achieving them requires changes in collaboration and the pace of innovation.
To progress further and faster, the sharing of skills, knowledge and experience between industry and innovators will be critical as the challenge of seeking out innovations to accelerate towards net zero is best achieved through partnership.
The Ultimate Guide to Innovating with the UK Energy Networks is designed to help innovators get involved with the UK’s energy industry transformation.
The guide provides up to date information to navigate and innovate with the UK’s energy networks.
This includes:
- Why the energy networks need new innovators
- The innovation process
- How funding is accessed
- Frequently asked questions
- Key resources.
Click below for more information or download a full pdf copy of the guide here.
Who are the Energy Networks?
The UK energy networks are a collection of companies responsible for the distribution and transmission of electricity and gas across the country.
These companies are regulated by Ofgem, which provides the Government framework in which the companies operate, ensuring that consumers receive safe, reliable and affordable energy services now and in the future.
TRANSMISSION
Energy transmission networks are systems that allow for the transportation of high voltage electricity and high-pressure gas from power plants to high energy business users and distribution networks. These transmission lines facilitate the movement of energy over long distances.
DISTRIBUTION
Energy distribution networks are the systems that bring electricity and gas from the transmission network to individual homes and businesses. These networks consist of lower-voltage power overhead lines, underground cables, gas mains, transformers an other equipment to connect with end users – both to deliver energy to meet demand and to collect the output from embedded generation.Electricity
Gas
The EIC Partnership
The EIC Partnership allows great businesses and innovators, big and small, to openly innovate together.
The Partnership consists of nine energy network companies, together with an evolving global community of more than 10,000 innovators.
The Partnership welcomes all innovators who have products, solutions and/or ideas with the potential to contribute towards achieving Net Zero, and improve how energy networks are operated and maintained. It helps to drive progress, creating new opportunities for growth and innovation, and ultimately delivering benefits for customers and communities across the UK.
THE PARTNERS
THE PARTNERSHIPS
- Shares key network challenges that require understanding, effective collaboration and ambitious innovation.
- Inspires and supports innovators who are developing new solutions to meet these challenges.
- Has proven and established processes to take ideas from development stage all the way through to business as usual deployment.
- Provides innovators with a collective voice.
LATEST STATISTICS ON EIC PARTNERSHIP BENEFITS
200+
Challenges advertised to innovators to date
£50m
Brokered to date
20+
Projects expected to transition into BAU in RIIO2
£200m
Brokered to date
“Reaching out to the EIC was a good first step on our journey to Net Zero. The first thing the EIC were able to do for us was to open the doors. As a company with no prior experience of working with the distribution network operators, we didn’t know where to begin when approaching such big companies. More importantly, the EIC has facilitated trials of our product with four of the operators now, providing all the correct formal documentation so that we’ve been able to deploy our products with the four DNOs for the last 18 months now. We couldn’t have done it without them.”
ALAN GREIG INNOVATOR, APK INDUSTRIES
The Energy Whole System Explained
The Energy Whole System approach describes how different sources of energy are produced and delivered to meet the needs of industry, business and domestic users. The overarching aim is to reduce carbon impact and greenhouse gas emissions as we move rapidly towards a Net Zero future.
In the past, the electricity, gas, renewable and oil industries usually worked separately. But now, a united approach considering and involving all energy vectors is needed to provide clean energy for various needs, such as transportation, electricity and gas, so that we can reduce emissions and make real headway towards saving the future of our planet.
Ofgem Innovation Vision
- Copyright: Protects expressive work like art, music and literature, but also covers coding and databases
- Trademarks: Protects brand names and logos
- Design Right: Protects the appearance of a physical product
- Patents: Protects rights in useful inventions and discoveries, like machines and processes.
CONSUMER BENEFITS
- More reliable energy supply
- Inclusive engagement
- Wider socio-economic benefits
- Accelerated decarbonisation
- Efficiency improvements
- Positive impact on employees
- Safer and secure networks
- Reduced environmental impact
Source: Energy Networks Association
INNOVATION PRINCIPLES
- Innovation should create value for the whole system.
- Innovation should be customer focused.
- Information on innovation should be widely disseminated (Ofgem).
Energy Innovation Landscape
Collaboration between industry, innovators and key industry bodies is a key enabler for ensuring a greener and safer future for our planet.
The following organisations – along with the EIC – are driving innovation in the UK energy sector and helping to create a more sustainable and resilient energy system for the future. Through their support, innovators can access funding and expertise, as well as general guidance on getting their ambitious plans off the ground
Ofgem’s Innovation Link offers support on energy regulation to innovators looking to trial or launch new products, services, methodologies, or business models.
ENA (Energy Networks Association) is the industry body for the UK and Ireland’s energy networks, funded by gas and electricity transmission distribution licence holders. The ENA hosts the Smarter Networks Portal, which innovators can also use as a source of information in relation to network innovation.
UKRI (UK Research and Innovation) is a public body that funds and coordinates research and innovation activities in the United Kingdom. It was established in 2018 to bring together several research councils and other organisations to promote collaboration and drive innovation across different fields. Additionally, UKRI ensures that innovation across the energy networks aligns with wider Government initiatives and other sectors, and is responsible for managing the Strategic Innovation Fund.
Innovate UK KTN exists to connect innovators with new partners and new opportunities – accelerating ambitious ideas into real-world solutions.
Energy Systems Catapult is an independent, not-for-profit organisation set up to accelerate the transformation of the UK’s energy system by identifying and addressing innovation opportunities and market barriers.
Funding Landscape
Each network licensee receives a set Network Innovation Allowance (NIA) as part of the price controls set by the regulator.
This provides each network with the flexibility to decide which technical, commercial or operational innovations it will take forward for the benefit of consumers and the business.
THE NIA IS A VITAL FUNDING MECHANISM FOR THE SECTOR BECAUSE:
- It cultivates an agile approach to innovation that actively encourages participation of third parties,
such as SME innovators. - It encourages industry collaboration on projects that the licensees would not otherwise undertake
within the price control. - It supports projects that have the potential to facilitate the energy system transition and/or benefit
consumers in vulnerable situations.
RESOURCES
Discover a host of resources to support innovation from concept to reality by visiting the Innovator Support Overview page.