The Energy Systems Catapult is launching a programme to help small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) develop smart heating and cooling technologies.

The Incubation or Acceleration Support will be offered by the Catapult’s Innovator Support Platform (ISP) and aims to de-risk innovation, help businesses grow and allow them to more easily secure investment.

The first challenge will focus on cleaning up heating and cooling, which are significant drivers of carbon dioxide generation and energy use within the UK, both from commercial and domestic applications.

It will help open routes to market whilst tackling business growth challenges such as developing consumer offerings, strengthening business models, creating products, gaining access to test facilities and forming partnerships.

Examples of potential business ventures could include improving the performance and cost-effectiveness of building retrofits, designing cleaner radiators or ventilation systems and finding ways to better use data and hybrid heating and cooling solutions.

They could also take the form of innovative solutions at the user-interface of district heating networks to allow improved aggregation and optimisation of the network, as well as seasonal heating and cooling storage and related deployment solutions.

Innovator Support Platform (ISP) Business Lead, Paul Jordan, said: “Many UK innovators face systemic barriers preventing their products and services getting to market at scale.

“Yet innovation is crucial to transforming our energy system to meet carbon reduction targets and heating alone accounts for over a third of UK carbon emissions.

“So, Energy Systems Catapult would like to invite SMEs who are working on innovative smart energy solutions for heating and cooling to submit applications for Incubation or Acceleration Support.”

The competition closes on Friday the 5th April 2019 at 5pm.