Consumer Led Flexibility for the Clean Energy Superpower Mission

Who can apply

Your project

Your project must:

• have a total grant funding request of between £100,000 and £3 million, depending on which research category you are applying through

• last between 4 and 30 months

• start by 1 January 2027

• end by 30 June 2029

Any organisation receiving funding must carry out its project work in the UK, intend to exploit the results in the UK, and spend most of the funding within the UK.

Projects must always start on the first of the month, even if this is a non-working day. You must not start your project until your Grant Offer Letter has been approved by Innovate UK. Any delays within Project Setup may mean we need to delay your project start date.

You must only include eligible project costs in your application. See our overview of eligible project costs.

If your project’s grant funding request or duration falls outside of our eligibility criteria, you must provide justification by email to support@iuk.ukri.org at least 10 working days before the competition closes. We will then decide whether to approve your request.

If your project does not meet our criteria and you have not requested justification approval, your application will be made ineligible and it will not be sent for assessment.

Lead organisation

To work as a sole applicant or lead a collaborative project your organisation must be a UK registered business of any size, a research and technology organisation (RTO), charity, not for profit, public sector organisation, or academic institution.

You are encouraged to consider how collaborations could strengthen your route to impact within a 2030 timeframe. For example, inclusion of end users is highly recommended, and you will be asked to justify how you will achieve impact if they are not included. You must also ensure you have appropriate energy system experience within your consortia, as without evidence of this it is unlikely that projects could achieve real world impact by 2030, which is a key aspect of the scope.

More information on the different types of organisation can be found in our Funding rules.

Project team

To collaborate with the lead, your organisation must be one of the following UK registered:

• business of any size

• academic institution

• charity

• not for profit

• public sector organisation

• research and technology organisation (RTO)

Each partner organisation must be invited into the Innovation Funding Service (IFS) by the lead to collaborate on a project. Once partners have accepted the invitation, they will be asked to login or to create an account in IFS. They are responsible for entering their own project costs and completing their Project Impact questions in the application.

To be an eligible collaboration, the lead and at least one other organisation must:

• apply for funding when entering their costs into the application

• include rationale for the collaboration and describe the structure in your application

• ensure any one partner does not account for more than 70% of the total eligible costs

Non-funded partners

Your project can include organisations who do not claim any funding for their work on the project. Their costs will be covered from their own resources. These can include UK, EU and other non-UK organisations. Non-UK partners are permitted to carry out project work from within their home countries and exploit the results outside the UK.

Non-funded partners may include investors, and projects are encouraged to actively engage relevant investors to support project development, commercialisation, and future deployment.

The inclusion of any non-UK partner must clearly provide benefit to the UK, for example, by bringing jobs and revenue growth to the UK market.

Where non-funded partners have been invited to the application on IFS, their costs will count towards the total eligible project costs.

Subcontractors

Subcontractors are allowed in this competition.

Subcontractors can be from anywhere in the UK and you must select them through your usual procurement process.

You can use subcontractors from overseas but must make the case in your application as to why you cannot use subcontractors from the UK.

You must provide a detailed rationale, evidence of the potential UK contractors you approached and the reasons why they were unable to work with you. We will not accept a cheaper cost as a sufficient reason to use an overseas subcontractor.

All subcontractor costs must be justified and appropriate to the total eligible project costs.

Number of applications

A business of any size or a research and technology organisation (RTO) can only lead on one application but can be included as a collaborator in two further applications.

If a business, academic institution, research and technology organisation (RTO), charity, not for profit or public sector organisation, or business is not leading any application, it can collaborate in any number of applications.

Sanctions

This competition will not fund you, or provide any financial benefit to any individual or entities directly or indirectly involved with you, which would expose Innovate UK or any direct or indirect beneficiary of funding from Innovate UK to UK Sanctions. For example, through any procurement, commercial, business development or supply chain activity with any entity as lead, partner or subcontractor related to these countries, administrations and terrorist groups.

Use of animals in research and innovation

Innovate UK expects and supports the provision and safeguarding of welfare standards for animals used in research and innovation, according to best practice and up to date guidance.

Applicants must ensure that all of the proposed work within projects, both in the UK and internationally, will comply with the UKRI guidance on the use of animals in research and innovation.

Any projects selected for funding which involve animals will be asked to provide additional information on welfare and ethical considerations, as well as compliance with any relevant legislation as part of the project start-up process. This information will be reviewed before an award is made.

Previous applications

You cannot use a previously submitted application to apply for this competition.

We will not award you funding if you have:

• failed to exploit a previously funded project

• an overdue independent accountant’s report

• failed to comply with grant terms and conditions

Innovate UK may withhold a grant payment at any time if you have any outstanding sums due to us in relation to other projects.

Subsidy control (and State aid where applicable)

This competition provides funding to organisations using the Research, Development and Innovation Streamlined Subsidy Scheme.

The Research, Development and Innovation Streamlined Scheme can be viewed on the subsidy database here: SC10780.

This is in line with the Subsidy Control Act 2022. Further information about the Subsidy requirements can be found within the Subsidy Control Act 2022 (legislation.gov.uk).

Innovate UK is unable to award organisations that are considered to be in financial difficulty. We will conduct financial viability and eligibility tests to confirm this is not the case following the application stage.

EU State aid rules now only apply in limited circumstances. See the Windsor Framework to check if these rules apply to your organisation.

In the ‘Project details’ section of your application you will be asked questions to indicate if State Aid or Subsidy applies to your organisation.

Further Information

If you are unsure about your obligations under the Subsidy Control Act 2022 or the State aid rules, you should take independent legal advice. We are unable to advise on individual eligibility or legal obligations.

You must not do anything which could cause a breach of Subsidy Control legislation applicable in the United Kingdom.

This aims to regulate any advantage granted by a public sector body which threatens to or distorts competition in the United Kingdom or any other country or countries.

This award is classified as a Subsidy which does not form part of your Minimal Financial Assistance or de minimis allowance.

Funding

Up to £25 million has been allocated to fund innovation projects in this competition. This is subject to us receiving a sufficient number of high quality applications. Funding will be in the form of a grant.

We reserve the right to adjust funding allocations for any of our competitions under exceptional circumstances, for example, in response to changes in policy, portfolio funding considerations, or broader government funding decisions.

Under the Research, Development and Innovation Streamlined Route rules, no more than £3 million can be awarded in the form of a grant to any one organisation in any one competition.

If your organisation’s work on the project is commercial or economic, your funding request must not exceed the limits below. These limits apply even if your organisation normally acts non-economically but for the purpose of this project will be undertaking commercial or economic activity.

For feasibility studies, industrial research, experimental development and innovation support you can get funding for your eligible project costs of:

Category 1: Feasibility studies (up to £500,000 total funding, per project, 6 months maximum)

Funding available for your eligible project costs of:

• up to 70% if you are a micro or small organisation

• up to 60% if you are a medium sized organisation

• up to 50% if you are a large organisation

Category 2: Industrial research projects (up to £1 million total funding, per project, 24 months maximum)

Funding available for your eligible project costs of:

• up to 70% if you are a micro or small organisation

• up to 60% if you are a medium sized organisation

• up to 50% if you are a large organisation

Category 2: Experimental development projects which are nearer to market (up to £3 million total funding, per project, 30 months maximum)

Funding available for your eligible project costs of:

• up to 45% if you are a micro or small organisation

• up to 35% if you are a medium sized organisation

• up to 25% if you are a large organisation

Note that for projects that exceed 12 months in duration, we may apply an interview stage as part of the assessment.

Capital equipment may be requested within the grant funding, but you will need to justify how it is proportionate to the funds available, and the scale of flexibility you anticipate your project will enable.

See UKRI Categories of research and development for further information on how these are defined.

For more information on company sizes, refer to the company accounts guidance.

If you are applying for an award funded under State aid Regulations, the definitions are set out in the European Commission Recommendation of 6 May 2003.

Innovate UK may revoke our decision to provide funding without notice if government commitment for this initiative is withdrawn.

Research participation

The research organisations undertaking non-economic activity as part of the project can share up to 100% of the total eligible project costs. If your consortium contains more than one research organisation undertaking non-economic activity, this maximum is shared between them. Of that 100% you can get funding for your eligible project costs of up to:

• 100% of your eligible project costs if you are an RTO, charity, not for profit organisation, public sector organisation or research organisation

• 80% of full economic costs (FEC) if you an academic institution

Eligibility criteria for claiming 80% of FEC funding

1. Research organisations must use the Transparent Approach to Costing (TRAC) method as the Je-S form has now been decommissioned.

2. We pay 100% of the 80% Full Economic Cost (FEC). On IFS only enter the 80% being claimed.

To find out more see our: Cost Guidance for Academics.

Your proposal

This competition is part of the Consumer Led Flexibility (CLF) Challenge within the Clean Energy Superpower Mission (CESM), which is part of the UKRI R&D Missions Accelerator Programme.

The aim of this competition is to support businesses and innovators who are developing novel AI and digital solutions and other innovative product and service solutions. This competition will accelerate consumer led flexibility and scale to system adoption by 2030.

We are looking for outcome focussed projects. You must provide strong evidence for how you will contribute to or enable the target of at least two Gigawatts (GW) of additional flexibility on the system by 2030. This is specifically to contribute to the National Energy System Operator’s (NESO) target of 10-12 GW of demand turn down during a winter peak.

Your proposal must develop solutions that enable flexible loads to be better utilised in system operation. Proposals should demonstrate clear staged CLF outcomes, credible commercial pathways and strong knowledge sharing plans. Learnings should then inform future CLF policy, regulation and investment decisions across the wider system.

We are anticipating a high level of interest in this programme, and UKRI reserves the right to reject any applications which we feel do not clearly align to the scope of this competition. Applicants must sufficiently justify how this funding will enable novel innovations rather than duplicate existing activity.

Your project will be reviewed internally by the UKRI team before being sent for assessment. Your project may be rejected if you cannot clearly justify how you align with the specific themes and how you will achieve increased winter peak demand reduction through CLF within the 2030 timeframe. We are aware that some themes may be addressed in isolation and others in combination and are open to submissions using either approach.

Stage gates

This competition will be grant funded with additional conditions around stage gates and monitoring added to the standard Innovate UK T&Cs. Specifically, stage gates will be built into all projects exceeding 12 months in duration.

These stage gates will focus on examining your project’s Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and milestone ambitions. The KPI’s and milestones will be set at the beginning of the project and developed throughout and will incorporate both commercial and technical aspects.

Stage gates will allow projects the opportunity to pivot in response to steers from UKRI and in some cases external assessors, to ensure the focus on achieving outcomes by 2030 is maintained. In some instances, stage gates may result in the cessation of a project where UKRI feels that progress and expectations are not being effectively met.

If your project is longer than 12 months in duration, you will be invited to suggest what would be appropriate to include in stage gate points for your project. For example, you could suggest particular sequencing for a stage gate like the halfway point. You could also suggest what milestones you expect to have been met by certain points and therefore what conditions the stage gate should be based on.

This conversation will be further developed with successful applicants.

Available support

There is a range of support available for applicants to this competition, and we strongly encourage you to review the options in the Background and Supporting Information section.

Portfolio approach

We want to fund a variety of projects across different technologies, locations, research categories, organisation types, markets, technological maturities and themes. We call this a portfolio approach and it may be applied during assessment of applications.

Specific themes

Your project must focus on one or more of the key themes. You can focus on multiple themes within the same strand or across both strands. The expectation is that any strand 2 project will need to draw on elements of strand 1 themes in the approach in order to address barriers and align with system needs.

Strand 1: Software first approach

1. Multi-market co-optimisation and locational pricing

2. Portfolio reliability and risk transfer

3. Confidence and AI forecasting

4. Feeder level flexibility and resilience

5. Electric Vehicle smart charging and Vehicle to everything (V2X)

6. Heat flexibility with comfort guarantees

7. Open datasets for AI

Strand 2. Demand segments

8. Low income households in constrained areas

9. Industrial and commercial anchor loads

10. Residential scaling

You must review the attached document which provides specific details against the key themes within this competition:

CLF June competition additional pdf document on themes.pdf (opens in a new window)

Research categories

We will fund feasibility projects, industrial research projects and experimental development projects, as defined in the guidance on categories of research.

Projects we will not fund

We are not funding projects that:

• do not strongly align with the competition scope and specific thematic areas

• do not demonstrate clear staged CLF outcomes

• do not demonstrate credible commercial pathways and strong knowledge sharing plans

• do not include an end user or energy system expertise in their consortium without clear justification for this absence

• do not consider the end user or route to impact and implementation by 2030

• are primarily literature review studies or requirement gathering without clear plans for scale up and implementation by 2030

• are not delivering measurable and specific objectives

• do not have a clear technical novelty or feasibility challenge

We cannot fund projects that are:

• dependent on export performance: giving a subsidy to an organisation on the condition that it exports a certain quantity of its products to another country

• dependent on domestic inputs usage: giving a subsidy to an organisation on the condition that it uses a set percentage of UK components in their product

10 June 2026

Competition opens

22 June 2026

Online briefing event: register to attend

Briefing slides will be available to download from Supporting Information after the event

25 June 2026

Surgery session 1 with Innovate UK Business Connect: register to attend

8 July 2026

First convening day: register to attend

15 July 2026

Second convening day: register to attend

21 July 2026

Surgery session 2 with Innovate UK Business Connect: register to attend

26 August 2026 11:00am

Competition closes

28 October 2026

Applicants notified

1 January 2027

Project start by

Before you start

You must read the guidance on applying for a competition on the Innovation Funding Service before you start.

Before submitting, it is the lead applicant’s responsibility to make sure:

• that all the information provided in the application is correct

• your proposal meets the eligibility and scope criteria

• all sections of the application are marked as complete

• if collaborative, that all partners have completed all assigned sections and accepted the terms and conditions (T&Cs)

You can reopen your application once submitted, up until the competition deadline. You must resubmit the application before the competition deadline.

What we ask you

The application is split into four sections:

1. Project details.

2. Application questions.

3. Finances.

4. Project Impact.

Accessibility and Inclusion

We welcome and encourage applications from people of all backgrounds and are committed to making our application process accessible to everyone. This includes making reasonable adjustments for people who have a disability or a long-term condition and face barriers applying to us.

You can contact us at any time to ask for guidance.

We recommend you contact us at least 15 working days before this competition’s closing date to allow us to put the most suitable support in place. The support we can provide may be limited if you contact us close to the competition deadline.

You can contact Innovate UK by email or call 0300 321 4357. Our phone lines are open from 9am to 12pm and 2pm to 5pm UK time, Monday to Friday (excluding bank holidays).

1. Project details

This section provides background for your application and is not scored.

Do not include any website addresses (URLs) in your answers.

Application team

Decide which organisations will work with you on your project and invite people from those organisations to help complete the application.

Application details

Give your project’s title, start date and duration.

Research category

Select the type of research you will undertake.

Project summary

Describe your project briefly and be clear about what makes it innovative. We use this section to assign the right experts to assess your application.

Your answer can be up to 400 words long.

Public description

Describe your project in detail and in a way that you are happy to see published. Do not include any commercially sensitive information. If we award your project funding, we will publish this description. This can happen before you start your project.

Your answer can be up to 400 words long.

Scope

Describe how your project fits the scope of the competition. If your project is not in scope, it will not be sent for assessment. We will tell you the reason why.

Your answer can be up to 400 words long.

2. Application questions

The assessors will score all your answers apart from questions 1 to 8 and question 15. You will receive feedback for each scored question. Find out more about how our assessors assess and how we select applications for funding.

You must answer all questions.

You must not include any website addresses or links (URLs) in your answers. Any website addresses or URLs included, will not be viewed or opened.

Question 1. Applicant location (not scored)

You must state the name and full registered address of your organisation and any partners or subcontractors working on your project.

We are collecting this information to understand more about the geographical location of all applicants.

Your answer can be up to 100 words long.

Question 2. Animal testing (not scored)

Will your project involve any trials with animals or animal testing?

You must select one option:

• Yes

• No

We will only support innovation projects conducted to the highest standards of animal welfare.

Further information for proposals involving animal testing is available at the UKRI Good Research Hub and NC3R’s animal welfare guidance.

Question 3. Permits and licences (not scored)

Will you have the correct permits and licences in place to carry out your project?

We are unable to fund projects which do not have the correct permits or licences in place by your project start date.

You must select one option:

• Yes

• No

• In the process of being applied for

• Not applicable

Question 4. International collaboration (not scored)

Does your proposed work involve any international collaboration or engagement?

You must provide details of any expected international collaboration or engagement. You must include a list of the names and the countries, any international project co-leads, project partners, visiting researchers, or other collaborators are based in. You must also include details of any subcontractors or service providers.

If your proposed work does not involve international collaboration or engagement, your answer must confirm this.

Your answer can be up to 100 words long.

Question 5. Export licence (not scored)

You must indicate whether an export control license is required for this project under the academic export control guidance.

You must select one option:

• Yes

• No

Question 6. Trusted Research and Innovation (not scored)

You must explain if your proposed project work relates to UKRI’s Trusted Research and Innovation (TR&I) Principles, including:

• a list of any dual-use (both military and non-military) applications to your research

• a list of the areas where your project is relevant to one or more of the 17 areas of the UK National Security and Investment (NSI) Act

• whether an export control license is required for this project under the academic export control guidance and the status of any applications

• a list of any items or substances on the UK Strategic Export Control List

If your proposed work does not relate to UKRI’s TR&I Principles, your answer must confirm this.

We may ask you to provide additional TR&I information at a later date, in line with UKRI TR&I Principles and funding terms and conditions.

Your answer can be up to 400 words long.

Question 7. Research theme (not scored)

Specify which research theme, or themes, your project fits within. Your project may fall within more than one.

The expectation is that any strand 2 applications will draw on elements from strand 1 themes in their approach, in order to address barriers and align with system needs.

Strand 1: Software first approach

1. Multi-market co-optimisation and locational pricing

2. Portfolio reliability and risk transfer

3. Confidence and AI forecasting

4. Feeder level flexibility and resilience

5. Electric Vehicle smart charging and Vehicle to everything (V2X)

6. Heat flexibility with comfort guarantees

7. Open datasets for AI

Strand 2. Demand segments

1. Low income households in constrained areas

2. Industrial and commercial anchor loads

3. Residential scaling

Your answer may be up to 100 words.

Question 8. Innovator support (not scored)

If applicable, specify which Catapult support package services you are requesting and justify your choice.

Describe:

• what you could achieve with this support

• what you could achieve without this support

• which services would deliver the greatest value

If you would like to access package one ‘trials and testing services’ from the Catapults, you must include a line in your answer confirming you have contacted them already through the route set out in the competition brief.

You do not need to contact the Catapults in advance for package two, ‘scale up support services’ and do not need to include costs related to this within your application.

If you do not wish to access any innovator support from the Catapults, you may answer ‘not applicable’ to this question or explain why.

Your answer may be up to 400 words.

Catapult support will be delivered through the Innovator Support Programme, funded separately from this competition. Funding will be provided directly to the Catapults through a dedicated award.

If you have already discussed package one ‘trials and testing services’ with the Catapults, you should outline these costs here. These costs will not count towards your own project thresholds for this competition and do not need to be listed within the finance section.

All costs not covered by the Innovator Support Programme must be included in your project costs, in line with the Finances section.

You can refer to the Background and Supporting Information section for full details on the Innovator Support packages.

Question 9. Technical project summary and commercial potential

What approach will you take, where will the focus of the innovation be, and what is the business need, technological challenge, or market opportunity behind your innovation?

In your response, explain:

• the business need, technological challenge, or market opportunity that aligns with the themes of this competition

• how you will respond to the need, challenge, or opportunity identified

• any work you have already done to respond to this need, for example, if the project focuses entirely on developing an existing capability or building a new one

• the wider economic, social, environmental, cultural or political challenges which are influential in creating this opportunity, such as incoming regulations

• what you want to achieve by the end of your project

• the target markets for the project outcomes and any other potential markets, either domestic, international or both

• your route to market, including your route to scale to multi-Megawatt deployment by 2030, including key milestones and overall viability; we recognise feasibility studies will be in the formative stages of this planning

• how this public funding will help you accelerate or enhance your approach to developing your project towards commercialisation

Your answer can be up to 400 words long.

You must submit an appendix to support your answer. It can include diagrams and charts. It must be a PDF no larger than 10MB.

If you are submitting to the industrial research or experimental development category, your appendix can be up to four A4 pages and must be legible at 100% zoom.

If you are submitting to the feasibility studies category your appendix can be up to two A4 pages and must be legible at 100% zoom.

Question 10. Project management and delivery

How will you manage and deliver your project effectively to achieve the desired outcomes?

Explain:

• the main work packages of your project covering milestones, dependencies, critical path, outputs and dissemination activities, indicating the lead partner assigned to each and the total cost of each one

• your approach to project management, identifying any major tools and mechanisms you will use to get a successful and innovative project outcomes aligned with your theory of change

• how you will build in the development of a benefits realisation plan relevant to the UK energy system, which must be submitted to UKRI three months after starting your project

• the main risks and uncertainties of the project, including the technical, commercial, managerial and environmental risks and how you will mitigate them

• any output likely to be subject to regulatory requirements, certification, ethical issues and other requirements identified, and how you will manage this

If your application falls within the industrial research or experimental development categories explain:

• a suggested stage gate point for UKRI to oversee, with indicative timing and success criteria based on outcomes achieved and progress to impact realisation

• how the stage gates will inform UKRI decisions to continue, steer, or wrap up the project

• how the project could adapt or pivot in response to new evidence, risks, or external changes, including triggers for change

Your answer can be up to 500 words long.

You must submit a project plan or Gantt chart and a risk register as an appendix to support your answer. It must be a PDF no larger than 10MB.

For the industrial research and experimental development projects your appendix can be up to three A4 pages and must be legible at 100% zoom.

For the feasibility studies your appendix can be up to two A4 pages and must be legible at 100% zoom.

Note, information from the finances section will be used to support the assessment of this question.

Question 11. Team and resources

Who is in the project team and what are their roles?

Explain:

• the roles, skills and experience of all members of the project team that are relevant to the approach you will be taking

• the resources and facilities needed for the project and how you will access them

• the details of any vital external parties, including subcontractors, who you will need to work with to successfully carry out the project, including connections to relevant users

• the current relationship between project partners and how these will change as a result of the project, if your project is collaborative

• any roles you will need to recruit for

You must also provide clear justification if the project does not have a business lead, appropriate user or direct energy system expertise involved.

Your answer can be up to 1000 words long.

Question 12. Current state of the art and intellectual property

Are similar products currently available in the market? How is your proposed project differentiated from them?

You must:

• include details of any existing intellectual property (IP) and its significance to your freedom to operate

• explain new concepts, approaches, tools or technologies you develop or use

• explain how you will manage, protect, and exploit IP during and after the project

• outline the role of this public funding in enabling your innovation, for example, de-risking, attracting investment, or accelerating scale-up, including what would happen without it

• explain how you will maintain freedom to operate and meet contractual IP requirements, if using subcontractors

Your answer can be up to 400 words.

Question 13. Wider Impacts and benefits

What impact and benefits might this project have outside the project team?

Referencing your theory of change and the pre-innovation baseline position, describe and, where possible, measure the economic benefits from the project such as productivity increases and import substitution, to:

• external parties

• customers

• others in the supply chain

• broader industry

• the UK economy

Describe and, where possible, measure:

• any expected impact on government priorities

• any expected environmental impacts, either positive or negative

• any expected regional impacts of the project

Describe any expected social impacts, either positive or negative, on, for example:

• quality of life

• social inclusion or exclusion

• jobs, such as safeguarding, creating, changing or displacing them

• education

• public empowerment

• health and safety

• regulations

• diversity

Within your responses, you must give an indication on how this differentiates you from any competitors.

If you are applying through the feasibility studies route, we acknowledge your theory of change may be in the formative stages and the impacts and benefits will be predictive. If you are awarded funding, we will ask you for an updated theory of change towards the end of your feasibility project.

Your answer can be up to 400 words long

You must submit your theory of change as an appendix to support your answer. It must be a PDF no larger than 10MB. It can be up to one A4 page and must be legible at 100% zoom.

Question 14. Costs and value for money

How much will the project cost and how does it represent value for money for the team and the taxpayer?

In terms of your project goals, provide narrative against your submitted costs to explain:

• your total eligible project costs

• the grant you are requesting

• how each partner will finance their contributions to your project

• how this project represents value for money for you and the taxpayer

• how it compares to what you would spend your money on otherwise

• the balance of costs and grant across the project partners

• any subcontractor costs and why they are critical to your project

• any costs you anticipate being covered by the Innovator Support Programme

Your answer can be up to 500 words long.

Question 15. Video pitch (not scored)

This video pitch offers you the opportunity to highlight the importance of your innovation and to help showcase you and your team's genuine passion, commitment, capability and understanding.

It will be scored as an essential component of your application.

In your video pitch, you may wish to focus on:

• the unmet need your innovation addresses

• a brief description of your innovative solution

• the potential societal impact of your innovation

• the target market for your innovation

• the reasons why your team is uniquely positioned to tackle this problem

• value for money

This list is not intended to be exhaustive.

The format for this video must be a direct to camera pitch in a personal, engaging format in which the speaker directly addresses the audience.

Describe or show the problem you are looking to solve.

Different members of your team can open Pitchtape directly from this application and film the answers to different topics. Once you are happy with your clips you can stitch them together to create a single video. Your video must be no more than two minutes long.

Your video does not need to be a high budget production. It is your opportunity to showcase your dedication, and we look forward to gaining deeper insights into your commitment to your project.

In your video pitch, you must:

• describe or show your proposed solution

• describe the benefits to energy consumers and the wider UK system

After you have submitted your video in Pitchtape, a notification will appear here. Make sure you check this link works before continuing with your application. There may be a delay in your video uploading onto IFS from Pitchtape, so please ensure you allow ample time for submitting your application.

Your submission will be stored securely and only accessible to your project team and Innovate UK.

If there are any confidentiality concerns that prevent you from discussing specific content in the video, please make a note of this in your written response to this section.

Your answer can be up to 200 words long.

If you face any challenges in uploading your video to Pitchtape, reach out to support@iuk.ukri.org at least 10 working days before the application deadline. They can provide further support and guidance.

3. Finances

Each organisation in your project must complete their own project costs, organisation details and funding details in the application. Academic institutions must use the Transparent Approach to Costing (TRAC) method and upload to IFS to support their costs. This is a replacement to the Je-S form which has now been decommissioned.

For an overview on what costs you can claim, see our project costs guidance. Note this is general guidance, for specific guidance see the eligibility section in this competition. You can also view our application finances video.

4. Project Impact

This section is not scored but will provide background to your project.

Each partner must complete the Project Impact questions before being able to submit the application.

More information can be found in our Project Impact guidance and by viewing our Impact Management Framework video.

Innovate UK complies with the requirements of UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018, and is committed to upholding data protection legislation, and protecting your information in accordance with data protection principles.

Assessment

Your application will be reviewed by three independent assessors based on the content of your application and their skills or expertise relevant to your project. All of the scores awarded will count towards the total score used to make the funding decision unless you are notified otherwise.

You can find out more about our assessment process in the General Guidance.

Your submitted application will be assessed against these criteria:

Consumer Led Flexibility for the Clean Energy Mission - Assessor guidance for applicants .pdf (opens in a new window)

Interviews

For feasibility projects: Your project will be assessed and the decision made to progress to next stages is expected to be made based purely on the scores you receive. We may under exceptional circumstances interview a limited number of proposals.

For industrial research and experimental development projects: After the initial assessment stage if your project has been scored at, or above, the threshold for this competition you may be invited to an interview in Autumn 2026.

Applicants who have scored at, or above, the threshold and are invited to interview will be provided with further guidance on the interview process nearer the time.

Applicants who have not passed the assessment stage will not be invited to interview and will not be awarded funding through this competition.

Background and further information

The UKRI Clean Energy Superpower Mission (CESM) is part of the UKRI R&D Missions Accelerator Programme (RDMAP). This is a flagship new Mission led approach backed by at least £500 million from Department of Science Innovation and Technology (DSIT) to 2030. ​

The programme will catalyse cutting edge research, technology and service solutions aligned to the UK Government’s five National Missions.​ It will launch Research & Innovation (R&I) Challenges inviting co-investment from industry and third sector to leverage a further £1.5 billion investment.​

The Consumer Led Flexibility (CLF) challenge is a core component of the UKRI CESM. Achieving the Clean power 2030 Action plan of 95% clean generation by 2030 will require significant flexibility to integrate high renewable generation, reduce constraint costs and maintain security of supply.

Targeted research and innovation is essential for unlocking latent supply and reduce system costs, alongside widespread market and regulatory reform. The programme of work will focus on technology and business model innovation investment alongside removing market access barriers.

The outcomes together will unlock at least two Gigawatts (GW) of CLF by 2030. We anticipate releasing further funding opportunities related to this CLF challenge over the next year. You can monitor the UKRI funding finder page for further opportunities.

As part of the broader strategy in this sector, CESM is working closely with Ofgem’s Strategic Innovation Fund (SIF) to ensure that the programmes align and are complementary with each other.

The SIF, which focuses on innovation in energy networks, has recently launched a new set of Innovation Challenges to cover the RIIO-3 price control period and provide further useful information to applicants, with Challenge 5 of particular relevance.

Where solutions align more closely with the SIF programme, applicants should direct applications through those available routes.

Available support

As part of a wider programme of work, we anticipate working with the Energy Systems and Digital Catapults who can provide business and scale up support, as well as access to resources such as trial type environments. The Catapults can offer a range of services, including specific activities and tools such as those detailed below, which applicants could consider taking advantage of.

There are two packages of support available:

• package one: Trials and testing support services; you would need to consult with the Catapults in advance so that costs can be appropriately considered, the costs should be explained in the narrative costs question of the application and do not count towards the project thresholds for this competition, as we will put in place a separate funding mechanism if they are approved

• package two: Scale up support services; does not require bespoke costing, these will be scoped with successful applicants on selection, so there is no need to contact the Catapults in advance for this

Applicants should consider how this, as well as how any other scale up support, will enable you to achieve outcomes by 2030.

Package one

You will need to reach out to the Catapults through this Microsoft form to discuss your needs and costing into the application. Under the case of high demand, we plan to use a triage based prioritisation system. When submitting an application, you should set out what you could achieve with, and without, this support.

Package one services include:

The Catapult Living Lab

This delivers real world consumer testing in digitally connected homes. It provides the technical certainty and data required to prove consumer acceptance, behavioural response, and automated load shifting while validating required comfort and wellbeing guarantees. Ideal for innovators needing to de-risk their consumer value proposition, evidence real world trial outcomes, and build a bankable investment case for funders.

Catapult Whole Energy Systems Architecture (WESA)

This delivers grid level testing by linking real home environments directly to physical electricity networks and control infrastructure. It validates multi-market value stacking, portfolio reliability, and network constraint management under strict grid conditions without risk to the live system. Ideal for innovators needing to prove future proofed, multi-Megawatt system scale viability to the grid by 2030.

Package two

These services will be scoped with successful applicants after bid submission. Applicants therefore do not need to cost this into their bids but should explain how this support would enable them to achieve desired outcomes.

Support is likely to be offered in the form of focus time with experts, with indicative amounts available in the Package 2 Menu of services.pdf (opens in a new window). For example, this may include commercial strategy and technical advisory support.

Engagement opportunities

To support potential applicants to build strong proposals with the right partners that are well aligned to the scope we are facilitating a series of engagement activities.

UKRI opportunities

The first will be an online information sharing webinar with a Q&A aspect, which anyone can attend, on 22 June 2026. A recording of the information sharing aspect will be made available afterwards.

Alongside this, we will also be working with Innovate UK Business Connect (IUKBC), who will deliver and manage an online matchmaking tool to be open throughout the duration of the competition. IUKBC will also host a series of ‘surgery sessions’ for potential applicants to sign up to. These will offer applicants the opportunity to pitch initial ideas, network with others, and ask further questions on the competition.

Catapult convening days

There will also be two distinct in-person ‘convening days’: one focussed on the strand 1: Software First aspect on 15 July 2026 and one focussed on the industrial and commercial theme within strand 2: Demand Segments on 8 July 2026.

These convening events are designed to help prospective applicants connect with potential collaborators, develop and test project ideas, and strengthen their approach to this opportunity.

Both events will create space for focused discussion, early stage partnership building and practical insight to support the development of competitive, high quality applications.

During the event, participants will have opportunities to:

• meet potential collaborators from across industry, academia, public sector and the innovation ecosystem

• develop and test project ideas, share capabilities and identify areas of interest relevant to the funding call

• explore partnership opportunities through facilitated networking and structured discussion

• gain practical insight to help shape a strong, well positioned application

Who should attend the Catapult convening days?

These events are intended for organisations considering a submission to this opportunity and looking to build or strengthen a collaborative proposal. This may include businesses, researchers, technology developers, delivery partners and others with relevant expertise, assets or routes to deliver impact.

These days are not compulsory, and attendees will not be prioritised for funding, they are designed to provide support for those that need it. To attend these days, you must complete the sign up form which includes a description of why you would like to attend. We anticipate this offering to be popular, so we may need to use your answers to select attendees based on alignment with the competition and if multiple people from the same organisation register to attend, we may reach out to ask for one or two representatives.

Disclaimer for the Catapult convening days

These sessions are designed to support networking, consortium development and application readiness. They are not a substitute for the formal competition guidance, eligibility criteria or application documentation, which applicants should review separately as part of their preparation.

In the case that we exceed capacity for these events, we will prioritise registrants that are working on or planning to work on a submission into this opportunity, and we reserve the right to limit the numbers of registrants coming from the same organisation.

Package 2 Menu of services.pdf (opens in a new window)

Research, Development and Innovation Streamlined Scheme Information

This award is being offered under the Research, Development and Innovation Streamlined Subsidy Scheme in accordance with section 10(4) of the Subsidy Control Act 2022.

Projects funded must meet the following definitions:

Category 1: Feasibility study

The evaluation and analysis of the potential of a project, which aims at supporting the process of decision making. This is done by objectively and rationally uncovering its strengths and weaknesses, opportunities and threats, as well as identifying the resources required to carry it through and ultimately it’s prospects for success.​

Category 2: Industrial research​

​The planned research or critical investigation that is aimed at the acquisition of new knowledge and skills for developing new products, processes or services. It can also be for projects that are aimed at bringing about a significant improvement in existing products, processes or services. ​

This would include digital products, processes or services, in any technology, industry or sector, including, but not limited to, digital industries and technologies, such as super-computing, quantum technologies, block chain technologies, artificial intelligence, cyber security, big data and cloud technologies. ​

Industrial research comprises the creation of component parts of complex systems. It may include the construction of prototypes in a laboratory environment or in an environment with simulated interfaces to existing systems as well as of pilot lines. Where necessary, this would be for the industrial research and notably for generic technology validation.​

Category 2: Experimental development

Means acquiring, combining, shaping and using existing scientific, technological, business and other relevant knowledge and skills with the aim of developing new or improved products, processes or services. ​

This includes:

• digital products

• processes or services in any technology, industry or sector, including but not limited to, digital industries and technologies, for example, super-computing

• quantum technologies

• block chain technologies

• artificial intelligence

• cyber security

• big data

• cloud or edge technologies ​

This may also encompass, for example, activities aimed at the conceptual definition, planning and documentation of new products, processes or services.​

Experimental development may comprise prototyping, demonstrating, piloting, testing and validation of new or improved products, processes or services in environments representative of real-life operating conditions. This would be where the primary objective is to make further technical improvements on products, processes or services that are not substantially set. ​

This may include the development of a commercially usable prototype or pilot which is necessary for the final commercial product and which is too expensive to produce for it to be used only for demonstration and validation purposes. ​

Experimental development does not include routine or periodic changes made to existing products, production lines, manufacturing processes, services and other operations in progress, even if those changes may represent improvements. ​

Briefing recording and slides

Briefing recording and slides will be available to download here after the briefing event.

What happens if you receive a grant offer

If you have passed your initial assessment and have received an email with a grant offer, you will be asked to complete the project setup process on the Innovation Funding Service (IFS). Watch our video on what steps are there before a project starts.

We will ask for information that will allow us to undertake mandatory checks on your organisation and the eligibility of your costs, as well as review the documentation for your project.

You must follow the unique link embedded in your email notification. This takes you to your project's dedicated IFS Set Up portal, where we gather the information required to set up your project, for example your bank details. Watch our video on how successful applicants receive their funding.

If your application is unsuccessful

If you are unsuccessful with your application this time, you can view feedback from the assessors. This will be available to you on your IFS portal following notification.

Sometimes your application will have scored well, and you will receive positive comments from the assessors. You may be unsuccessful as your average score was not above the funding threshold or your project has not been selected under the portfolio approach if this is applied for this competition.

Find a project partner

If you want help to find a project partner, contact Innovate UK Business Connect.

As the UK’s lead connector within the innovation ecosystem, Innovate UK Business Connect brings together cross sector networks of businesses, researchers, investors, and delivery partners, combining insight, intelligence, and sector expertise with active brokerage support.

Support for SMEs from Innovate UK Business Growth service

Innovate UK Business Growth helps innovation focused businesses make the best strategic choices and access the right resources, in order to grow and ultimately achieve scale.

Visit the service’s website to learn about how you might benefit as a winner.

Protecting your innovation

A Secure Innovation campaign has been developed to help founders and leaders of innovative startups protect their technology, competitive advantage, and reputation.

This was developed by UK’s National Protective Security Authority (NPSA) and the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC).

Data sharing

This competition is jointly operated by Innovate UK, and UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) (each an ‘agency’).

Any relevant information submitted and produced during the application process concerning your application can be shared by one agency with the other, for its individual storage, processing and use.

This means that any information given to or generated by Innovate UK in respect of your application may be passed on to UKRI and vice versa. This would include, but is not restricted to:

• the information stated on the application, including the personal details of all applicants

• scoring and feedback on the application

• information received during the management and administration of the grant, such as Monitoring Service Provider reports and Independent Accountant Reports

Innovate UK may also share any relevant information submitted and produced during the application process concerning your application with Innovate UK’s national and regional UK third parties and partners who may contact you. For more information see how we handle grant applicant and grant holder data.

Innovate UK and UKRI are directly accountable to you for their holding and processing of your information, including any personal data and confidential information. Data is held in accordance with their own policies. Accordingly, Innovate UK, Innovate UK Business Connect and UKRI will be data controllers for personal data submitted during the application.

Innovate UK’s Privacy Policy

Innovate UK Business Connect Privacy Policy

UKRI’s Privacy Notice

UKRI’s Data Protection Policy

Innovate UK complies with the requirements of UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018, and is committed to upholding data protection legislation, and protecting your information in accordance with data protection principles.

The Information Commissioner’s Office also has a useful guide for organisations, which outlines the data protection principles.

Contact us

If you need more information about how to apply or you want to submit your application in Welsh, email support@iuk.ukri.org or call 0300 321 4357.

Our phone lines are open from 9am to 12pm and 2pm to 5pm UK time, Monday to Friday (excluding bank holidays).

Innovate UK or any of our partners will not tolerate abusive language in any written or verbal correspondence, applications, social media or any other form that might affect staff.