Funding for research into better processes, software and hardware for energy management

The Technology Strategy Board has just launched a new £4m funding programme for collaborative R&D in the field of energy management for existing buildings. Consortia bidding for the funds must be collaborative and business led. They are likely to include at least one business that provides solutions for energy management, such as technology providers, building/facility/ energy managers or engineers. Projects will range in size from about £300k to £1 million. They must be intended to develop your business, and are part funded at between 35 and 60%.

According to their bidding documents, the sort of projects that might fall in scope are:

systems for identifying poor energy performance, diagnosing the reasons, visualising the analysis, proposing intelligent solutions and forecasting performance improvements.
energy management systems that can be more simply installed and commissioned in existing buildings, clusters of buildings or across a portfolio of buildings
combining energy management systems with other smart capabilities valued by customers, such as measuring real-time energy use alongside space-use efficiency or productivity.
systems that facilitate new collaborations on energy management between multiple stakeholders, for instance, by integrating and resolving the differing requirements of landlord and tenant in a leased or multi-occupancy building.
systems that overcome the uncertainty of achieving forecasted energy savings, for instance, through real-time monitoring and verification other innovations, driven by market needs, for energy management in existing buildings.

For more detail about the call, visit the Technology Strategy Board web site or contact Anne King at BSRIA (anne.king@bsria.co.uk)