Innovation across the GB gas networks
Innovation is central to how GB gas networks are delivering a safe, affordable and low carbon energy system.
From green gasses to digitalisation and asset optimisation, innovation is enabling new approaches that maintain system reliability while supporting the energy transition.
FEN brings together gas networks, industry experts, innovators, academia, and policy stakeholders to address shared challenges. We support alignment of priorities, facilitate collaboration, and enable solutions to be developed and deployed at scale across the energy system.
Engagement is welcome from organisations and individuals working across energy, utilities, technology, research, and regulation who want to contribute to shaping the future energy system.
We host regular innovation events to share project outcomes, explore emerging challenges, and connect partners to future opportunities.
Gas Networks Innovation Strategy
Gas networks publish a joint innovation strategy at least every two years, aligning priorities across the sector and setting the direction for collaborative innovation.
The 2026 Strategy was published on 31 March 2026, and can be read in full here.
Previous strategies and related publications are available on the Energy Networks Association’s website.
Get involved in innovation
FEN supports collaboration between gas networks and organisations across industry, academia, government and regulation.
Whether you are developing new technologies, shaping policy, or contributing system insight, there are opportunities to engage at different stages of innovation. We are particularly keen to hear from new innovators, from beyond the energy sector, who we haven’t worked with before.
Specifics about what would qualify for innovation funding can be found in more detail below, but in essence, any new projects should:
- Be genuinely new in a gas setting
- Would contribute to the energy transition, or
- Would support customers in vulnerable situations
Routes to engagement
If you have an idea for a project, or a product or IP that would be novel in the gas industry, you can contact the gas networks directly here:
Working collaboratively
Innovation is typically delivered through partnerships, bringing together networks, technology providers, research organisations and other stakeholders.
Projects are expected to generate shared learning for the sector, while operating within established frameworks for governance, data sharing and the appropriate management of intellectual property.
From concept to deployment
There is an increasing focus across the sector on delivering innovation that leads to measurable, system-wide impact.
This includes:
- Addressing clearly defined challenges
- Demonstrating performance in real-world environments
- Scaling solutions across networks
- Supporting the transition into business-as-usual operations
Organisations with relevant expertise, solutions or perspectives are encouraged to engage and explore how they can contribute to funded innovation activity.
How innovation works
Innovation across the GB gas networks is supported by a structured framework that enables ideas to progress into real-world application.
This combines network-led funding, strategic programmes, and a shared delivery process, providing multiple routes to engage depending on the scale, maturity, and ambition of an idea.
Network Innovation Allowance
The Network Innovation Allowance (NIA) provides each network with funding to develop and deliver innovation projects.
NIA supports the exploration of new concepts, early-stage development, and targeted trials, enabling networks and partners to build evidence, test approaches, and generate learning.
Projects are expected to:
- Deliver clear customer benefit
- Support customers in vulnerable situations where appropriate
- Contribute to the energy transition
- Generate learning for the wider industry
NIA provides a flexible route for organisations to collaborate directly with individual networks and develop new ideas into funded projects.
Find out more here.
Strategic Innovation Fund
The Strategic Innovation Fund (SIF) is a £500 million programme for the RIIO 3 period, supporting large-scale, cross-sector innovation to transform energy networks.
SIF takes a mission-led, outcome-focused approach, funding portfolios of projects designed to address a set of strategically defined Innovation Challenges. These challenges reflect shared priorities across the sector and define clear outcomes for customers, the energy system and economic growth.
The current Innovation Challenges focus on areas such as:
- Industrial and business connection acceleration
Enabling major strategic sites to connect and become operational significantly faster - Faster build and maintenance
Reducing the time and cost of network construction and ongoing asset maintenance - Instant use domestic energy devices
Supporting seamless, “plug-and-play” integration of new technologies in homes - Eliminating energy outages
Improving system resilience and enabling near-zero interruptions - Decentralised system balancing
Enabling flexible, local optimisation and balancing of energy networks
Together, these challenges provide a coordinated framework for innovation activity across gas and electricity networks, enabling organisations to contribute to nationally significant system transformation.
SIF projects are typically delivered through multi-partner collaborations and progress through a structured, staged process—from feasibility through to demonstration and potential deployment—supported by defined governance and regulatory oversight.
SIF provides opportunities to:
- Contribute to large-scale, system-level innovation
- Work in partnership with networks and cross-sector stakeholders
- Test and demonstrate solutions in operational environments
- Support the transition of innovation into business-as-usual delivery
It is open to:
- National Energy System Operator (NESO)
- Transmission operators
- Distribution networks
Find out more here.
The Future Energy Networks Innovation Process
The Future Energy Networks Innovation Process (FENIP) provides a consistent, industry-aligned framework for how innovation projects are developed and delivered across GB gas networks.
It sets out:
- Approaches to project initiation and collaboration
- Governance, reporting and delivery requirements
- Expectations for knowledge dissemination and transparency
The FENIP supports efficient collaboration by providing clarity on how projects progress from concept through to delivery and how stakeholders can engage.
Explore projects and learning
Dissemination and insight sharing
We support the sharing of innovation learning through a structured programme of dissemination activity, helping ensure that project outcomes are understood, accessible and adopted across the sector.
This includes webinars, in person events and attendance as appropriate conferences, exhibitions and other events. Details of these can be found on our events page here.
Annual Innovation Summaries
Each gas network produces an annual innovation report, providing transparency on investment, outcomes and customer benefit.