David Smith, Chief Executive at Energy Networks Association which represents the UK and Ireland’s energy networks businesses said:
“This is innovation that will help deliver the public the low cost, Net Zero emissions energy system they need and I would like to congratulate all those projects which have been taken forward. It will help to keep Britain at the front of the pack of the international race for hydrogen, while creating even smarter and more efficient electricity networks.
"They will play a vital role as part of government’s ambitions for climate action and a green economic recovery, supporting jobs, growth and decarbonisation across the whole country. These ambitions will need to be continued through the new Strategic Innovation Fund in RIIO-2 and we look forward to seeing more detail from Ofgem on how this will work in practice.”
Notes to editor
Ofgem's decision document has full details about the projects and all Network Innovation Competition funding decisions.
Five winning projects:
- SGN: H100 Fife will be a first of its kind 100% green hydrogen generation, storage and distribution network to heat 300 homes in Levenmouth.
- National Grid Gas Transmission: FutureGrid will test how to safely introduce hydrogen into NGGT's gas transmission network.
- UK Power Networks: Constellation will develop new platforms to digitally upgrade electricity substations to better manage variable low carbon power generation and surges in demand, even when communication links to central systems are lost.
- Electricity North West: QUEST project will unlock capacity and reduce the need for network reinforcement by integrating standalone voltage control schemes into a single system to create a “self-balancing” network.
- National Grid Electricity Transmission: RICA will reduce the need to construct new overhead power lines by upgrading electricity transmission towers to carry 45% more power on existing routes and avoid the emission of 39,000 tonnes of CO2.
About us
Energy Networks Association (ENA) is the industry body representing the energy networks. Our members include every major electricity network operator in the UK. The electricity networks are at the heart of the energy transition. They directly employ more than 26,000 people in the UK, including 1,500 apprentices. They are spending and investing £33bn in our electricity grids over the coming years, to ensure safe, reliable and secure energy supplies for the millions of homes and businesses reliant on power every day.
Press contacts
You can contact ENA's press office by emailing press@energynetworks.org. For urgent or out-of-hours enquiries from journalists, please call 0204 599 7691.