Spottitt and National Grid Electricity Transmission granted Ofgem funding for project to accelerate network innovation through the use of satellite data

Spottitt and National Grid Electricity Transmission (NGET) have been granted Strategic Innovation Funding by the Office of Gas and Electricity Markets (Ofgem) to deliver the Discovery Phase of the Eye in the Sky project in support of network innovation that contributes to the achievement of net zero, while delivering real benefits to network consumers.

The Strategic Innovation Funding (SIF) is delivered in partnership with Innovate UK, part of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) and aims to find and fund ambitious, innovative projects with the potential to accelerate the transition to net zero.

The Eye in the Sky project will investigate new satellite data analytics solutions that can help GB networks to improve the visibility of infrastructure and assets, response in emergencies, and assess the impact of climate change.

By assessing how novel uses of data and digital platforms can significantly improve network planning, modelling and forecasting capabilities, the project aims to use the satellite data to improve the response to climate change effects like flooding, strong wind, snowstorms or wildfires and provide warning to the networks for better planning and resource allocation during extreme weather events.

The final solution should significantly reduce the requirements for manual ground and aerial based monitoring. This would allow GB networks to be better informed about network conditions and more reliable while lowering the emissions and costs associated with operation and maintenance activities.

The key outcome is that networks will benefit from more frequent risk assessment, faster response in emergencies, and optimised resource allocation and infrastructure development planning. Consumers will benefit from higher grid reliability, lower cost for emergency response and faster system recovery.

Alexander Yanushkevich, National Grid’s Innovation Manager said, “Putting innovation at the heart of transforming the energy landscape is essential to achieve net zero. The Strategic Innovation Funding grant to deliver the Discovery Phase of three National Grid electricity transmission projects is a great example of how being open to new ideas can bring the greatest possible benefits to our customers, stakeholders and end consumers.”

Lucy Kennedy, Spottitt’s co-founder and CEO, said, ” The Spottitt team is very excited to be working with National Grid on a project so closely aligned to our company mission…. to help infrastructure asset owners operate assets which are increasingly more reliable, flexible, and climate resilient through the provision of non-polluting satellite derived monitoring technologies. The beauty of the new Strategic Innovation Funding grant is the fact that the innovation outcomes and results of each project can be leveraged by all gas and power TSOs and DSOs and therefor all end consumers in GB.

For more information on the Strategic Innovation Fund, click here

For National Grid’s press release, click here