Open Digital Solutions for Net Zero Energy is a project funded by UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) under the Small Business Research Initiative (SBRI) competition that aims to develop open software, hardware and data solutions that address the challenges of transforming to a Net Zero energy system.
The result of the competition is a total investment of around £1.8 million across six projects, using 100% funded pre-commercial procurement contracts.
The Open Digital Solutions challenge was identify solutions that would:
The outputs should be adopted by first users and have potential to be supported and adopted by the wider community and other users across the Net Zero energy and associated sectors.
Projects in this competition must follow appropriate open approaches such as the Open Source Definition stewarded by the Open Source Initiative (OSI) and have suitable open licencing, such as OSI approved licences. They must consider business model innovation options to support scaling and commercial growth based on open solutions.
Six projects have been awarded funding by Innovate UK to develop new open software, hardware and data solutions that can help accelerate the UK’s transition to a net zero energy system.
Under the funding, awarded by UKRI’s Prospering from the Energy Revolution programme, each project will receive up to £300,000 to develop its innovative proposals.
The projects include new, open technology solutions for applications such as:
Led by Toffeeam
Working on an open-source curated dataset for modelling turbulence in the design of printed circuit heat exchanger (PCHE) and cold plate cooling systems. These are heavily used by many industries tackling electrification and net zero.
Led by Open Climate Fix.
Developing a state-of-the-art open-source method for forecasting power generation from solar photovoltaic systems.
This will help solar farms, solar storage, and smart homes to optimise and manage their systems, reducing both costs and CO2 emissions.
Led by JET Engineering System Solutions.
Developing systems that remove the need for fibre between 5G base stations, so that maritime communications can work through a ‘floating network’.
This will speed up the installation of offshore wind turbines, which is currently hampered by limited ability to communicate with sites.
Led by Thermal Integration.
Developing an open-source controller for heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) systems that can carry out a wide variety of roles, and be built on and adapted by others.
This will allow HVAC systems to be upgraded to open control, and:
Led by the Centre for Sustainable Energy.
Creating an intuitive web application to give householders, building owners and local communities free, independent information on the viability of installing solar photovoltaic panels in their specific situation. It also provides advice on next steps and installation.
Led by Carbon Co-op (the Society for the Reduction of Carbon).
Adapting and extending an existing US open-source methodology for quantifying avoided energy use. The approach combines smart meter data, weather feeds and information on energy efficiency interventions as the basis for new business models.
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