Driving energy flexibility in partnership | Project: GridFlex

Digital Catapult and Energy Systems Catapult have partnered through the GridFlex Programme, funded by Innovate UK, to accelerate the practical application of deep tech innovation in the energy sector and to achieve a digitalised, flexible and carbon neutral energy system in the UK.  

The programme will equip the UK’s energy sector to be future ready, strengthening the grid, unlocking innovation, driving industrial supply chain resilience and advancing the UK’s Clean Power 2030 objectives and contributing to the Clean Energy Superpower and Growth Missions. Together, we are laying the groundwork for a confident, investable market that harnesses deep tech innovation to deliver sustainable energy flexibility at scale.  

Digital Catapult will build on the programme’s success, applying digital innovation to complex industrial challenges, unlocking sustainable solutions that mobilise economic growth and deliver on decarbonisation. Combining Digital Catapult’s deep tech expertise, access to cutting-edge facilities across the country and network of innovators with Energy Systems Catapult’s insight on the UK energy sector and its relationships with industry leaders, the partnership will ensure that solutions developed are scalable, reliable and applicable to real-world challenges.  

Flexibility in the energy system is key to achieving tens of billions in annual cost savings by 2050 and delivering emissions savings required to meet Net Zero // Clean Power 2030 (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero). The current system, however, is fragmented, complex, and siloed, creating significant barriers to innovation. Policymakers and innovators alike face challenges from rapid technological advancements, unclear paths of funding, and limited access to integrated tools and frameworks. 

The Clean Energy: 2GW Peak Time Flexibility challenge is the first of five to be announced as part of the R&D Missions Accelerator Programme. Through this challenge, Digital Catapult and Energy Systems Catapult will help to equip the energy sector to be future ready and help to cut peak demand for grid electricity by 2 gigawatts (2GW). The introduction of the 2GW flexibility capacity to the system has the potential for the consumer to cut energy costs in the long-term , boosting the UK’s energy security, and further reducing the reliance on fossil fuels, helping to deliver on the UK’s Plan for Change. GridFlex is a systems change initiative: the programme will have an impact across the whole system, ensuring better coordination across traditional siloes and mitigating unintended consequences.