Britain’s electricity networks are evolving rapidly as increasing levels of distributed generation, electric vehicles, heat pumps and network automation are connected to the grid. These developments place growing demands on communications infrastructure, requiring secure, resilient and dependable connectivity between substations, field assets, operational systems and control centres. At the same time, digital substation and automation applications governed by standards such as IEC 61850 place demanding requirements on communications performance, reliability and operational resilience.
GRID-5G is an 18-month, £4.01 million project supported by an Innovate UK grant of more than £3 million through the SNPN 5G Assured Integration competition.
Private 5G technologies provide a platform for exploring dedicated, utility-controlled communications architectures that can complement existing communications infrastructures while supporting future automation, monitoring and operational applications. However, significant questions remain regarding interoperability, independent assurance, security, operational performance and deployment readiness within critical infrastructure environments.
Validated on a live network, not in simulation
PNDC’s role goes well beyond coordination. The project will be validated on PNDC’s 11kV to LV smart grid network, using real IEDs, RTUs and SCADA gateways, with a 5G SNPN already deployed and operational on site. Validation activities will include IEC 61850 communications, SCADA integration, fault location, isolation and service restoration (FLISR), digital substation applications, and communications support for restoration and resilience use cases — the kind of conditions that decide whether a technology is genuinely ready for the network.
PNDC leads three of the seven work packages: requirements, system architecture and standards alignment; testbed integration and OT validation; and programme management, dissemination and market readiness. The project will utilise PNDC’s representative smart grid infrastructure, including real IEDs, RTUs, SCADA systems and power-system simulation environments, enabling realistic validation of utility communications use cases.
A consortium covering the complete technology stack
GRID-5G brings together seven organisations with complementary roles and expertise:
- PNDC / University of Strathclyde — project lead, testbed operations and validation
- AWTG Ltd — mandated systems integrator, leading multi-vendor 5G core and RAN integration, use case implementation and testing
- Novomorphic Ltd — FPGA-based Secure Edge AI hardware platform for deterministic IEC 61850 processing
- Ekiva Ltd — orchestration and closed-loop network intelligence
- Neutral Wireless Ltd — OpenRAN radio units at 3.8GHz, with additional 700MHz and/or 450MHz support as project needs determine
- CableFree (Wireless Excellence Ltd) — UK-manufactured 450MHz and 700MHz O-RAN radio
- Energy Connect Ltd — spectrum, regulation and utility deployment advice, with engagement across all UK DNOs
Independent security and resilience assurance will be provided by Digital Catapult through its SONIC Lab, complementing the Assured 5G Technical Authority (A5GTA) programme that Innovate UK has funded the Catapult to deliver for the wider private network ecosystem.
Outputs designed to be used
The project’s central public-good output is a Technical Reference Architecture that DNOs and other critical national infrastructure operators can use directly in design and procurement, published alongside interoperability evidence, performance results and a security assurance summary. The timing is deliberate: the first framework renewals aligned with mature SNPN capability fall in the 2027–2029 window, immediately after GRID-5G concludes.
GRID-5G runs to early 2028. A dedicated project page will follow, and we’ll be sharing findings, workshops and demonstration events as the project progresses.
This is exactly the kind of project PNDC exists for. We have the live network, the grid assets and the standalone non-public network already running, and a team that understands both the communications side and the power systems side.
GRID-5G reflects PNDC’s role as a neutral innovation environment where communications technologies can be evaluated against realistic electricity system requirements. By bringing together expertise from the energy, telecommunications, cybersecurity and spectrum domains, the project aims to generate the evidence needed to support future deployment, standardisation and adoption of private 5G within critical infrastructure environments.
