INES aimed to promote UK innovation as a key lever for decarbonising the Brazilian electricity grid.

The key objectives of this project are to:

• conduct research on key innovation priorities to enable a Net Zero electricity grid and build capacity in the UK and Brazil
• develop and showcase innovative solutions and transferable business models through pilots
• promote innovation testing and evidence-based policy making
• support scale-up through close interaction with the private sector
• facilitate partnerships and commercial relationships beyond the life of the project
• establish a forum for dialogue and knowledge exchange.

Energy Systems Catapult is uniquely positioned to bridge the Brazilian and UK innovation ecosystems, given the Catapult’s extensive ties to Brazilian corporates, research institutes and British start-ups.

The challenge

Both climate change, and the associated energy transition, are imposing different pressures on the Brazilian electricity sector. After extensive engagement with Brazilian utilities, the Catapult has chosen to address the following challenges:

• Extreme weather resilience: As climate change continues to intensify, extreme weather events, ensuring grid resilience has never been more important. As such, INES sought solutions in predictive maintenance, advanced weather modelling, and asset protection, identifying promising technologies that could mitigate power surges and transmission line vulnerabilities.
• Distributed generation integration: With Brazil’s rapid adoption of solar PV and decentralised energy, utilities are facing new challenges, including voltage fluctuations and real-time monitoring gaps. INES therefore sought AI-driven forecasting tools, real-time grid management solutions, and innovative network monitoring technologies to support a more flexible, efficient, and resilient energy system.

The solution

The project is committed not only to driving technological advancement but also to promoting knowledge exchange and long-term collaborative relationships between the innovation ecosystems of Brazil and the UK. 

Two challenge calls were launched in 2024, inviting UK innovators to propose solutions tailored to the challenges previously identified. The most promising solutions were shortlisted and presented to industry partners, with finalists advancing to an immersive boot camp experience. The selected innovators then collaborated directly with energy companies to refine their proposals, ensuring real-world applicability and strategic fit.

INES successfully attracted world-class UK innovators, showcasing cutting-edge solutions with the potential to transform Brazil’s energy landscape. Some of the solutions investigated included:

• Open Climate Fix: an AI-powered solar forecasting tool leveraging satellite imagery and climate data to optimise grid management. This technology enhances real-time visibility of distributed solar generation, reducing voltage fluctuations and improving grid stability.
• Reactive Technologies: a real-time voltage and grid event monitoring platform, offering high-precision insights through compact measurement devices. This innovative approach supports dynamic grid management without requiring major infrastructure changes.
• Fundamentals Ltd: smart voltage control systems designed to mitigate fluctuations caused by increased solar PV integration. These relay technologies enhance network efficiency and ensure compliance with grid voltage standards.
• Digital Engineering: advanced climate modelling tools to predict and mitigate extreme weather impacts on energy assets. These solutions help utilities strengthen infrastructure resilience against climate-induced disruptions.
• Spottitt: a satellite-powered asset monitoring system that provides real-time insights into infrastructure health, using advanced machine learning techniques to detect potential risks before they become failures.
• Keen AI: an autonomous drone inspection service that utilises AI and computer vision to assess critical energy infrastructure, offering an efficient, cost-effective alternative to traditional inspection methods.
• Nortech Management Ltd: a machine learning-based fault detection system capable of identifying vulnerabilities in transmission networks, improving overall operational efficiency and reducing downtime.

The innovation

Below are some of the ways in which INES showcased innovative thinking:

• By engaging directly with Brazilian utilities before launching the challenge calls, the programme ensured that the solutions proposed by UK innovators were highly relevant and tailored to real-world needs.
• The organisation of immersive boot camps where innovators refine their solutions alongside energy companies, ensuring strategic fit and increasing the likelihood of adoption.
• The project showcased cutting-edge solutions like automation and AI to the Brazilian utilities.

Impact

Brazil’s rapid increase in distributed and variable renewable energy is creating challenges in matching electricity supply and demand. A possible solution identified is utilising flexible electricity assets within the network. However, at present there is limited regulation in place for such initiatives.

This project aimed to explore barriers to flexibility in Brazil by applying UK insights across five key themes and collaborating with local stakeholders to understand challenges within that context. The work found stakeholders supportive of regulatory reform to enable flexibility with key challenges identified including a lack of regulatory vision, limited knowledge and experience, and unclear roles and responsibilities in the flexibility market.