Inclusive Smart Solutions is a £2.75 million programme funded by the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero £65 million Flexibility Innovation Programme, which seeks to enable large-scale widespread electricity system flexibility through smart, flexible, secure, and accessible technologies and markets.

The programme is funded through the government’s £1 billion Net Zero Innovation Portfolio (NZIP), which provides funding for low-carbon technologies and systems and aims to decrease the costs of decarbonisation helping enable the UK to end its contribution to climate change.

The challenge

A smart and flexible energy system is critical to our future for all consumers. There are risks and opportunities with this for how consumers can benefit and participate in the energy system. There is a risk that the innovative products and services that will assist this transition could exacerbate existing, and introduce new, barriers for certain groups of consumers, including low income and vulnerable consumers. This programme will focus on consumers that would otherwise struggle to participate in a smart, flexible energy system.

The solution

The Inclusive Smart Solutions programme aims to address these challenges by providing a better understanding of the barriers faced by low income and vulnerable (LIV) consumers in the transition to a smart, flexible energy system; and developing a suite of innovative solutions that will facilitate increased participation of LIV consumers in the emerging smart, flexible energy system.

Bringing together its expertise in consumer insights and energy system innovation, Energy Systems Catapult is delivering on the aims of the programme through two phases of work between September 2023 and March 2025.

Phase 1 focussed on conducting primary research with LIV consumers to maximise the understanding of their needs and existing barriers, using this research insight to inform and develop innovative solutions for LIV consumers. This was delivered alongside a thorough ‘Open Innovation’ selection process, where four innovative solutions were identified to progress into Phase 2.

In Phase 2, the selected innovative solutions are currently developed and tested iteratively with LIV consumers. This approach incorporates alpha (co-creation of solutions with LIV consumers) and beta (testing at increasing scale with LIV consumers) stages as well as business and commercial modelling to develop commercially viable solutions.

Project Lead: Energy Systems Catapult
Project participants: Ipsos Mori, The Carbon Trust, TPX Impact, Repowering London, equiwatt, Homely and Changeworks