Wolverhampton’s Green Corridor Powers the Future of Clean Energy

Wolverhampton’s Green Innovation Corridor (GIC) is a flagship development linking the University of Wolverhampton’s Springfield Campus, the Science Park and the i54 advanced manufacturing park. It is designed as a hub for clean technology, advanced engineering and green manufacturing¹ . Crucially, the GIC strategy calls for a “truly green” energy infrastructure – exploring heat networks, heat capture and solar generation to power thousands of new homes and facilities² . The West Midlands Combined Authority and city partners have set net-zero targets and massive housing goals here (over 9,000 homes via HS2-driven growth), so planning this corridor’s energy from day one is vital. Challenge 6 of the DIATOMIC Digital Accelerator is explicitly focused on the GIC’s renewable energy ambitions, inviting SMEs to use digital twins and city data to integrate solar, wind, storage and other low-carbon sources into Wolverhampton’s grid.

Digital Twins: The Smart Way to Harness Renewables

Digital twins are live, virtual replicas of real infrastructure and urban environments. By linking sensors and live data feeds (weather, grid loads, traffic etc.) to a 3D city model, a digital twin lets planners simulate and optimise systems before building anything. The DIATOMIC platform, for example, provides a real-time city model that connects to many data streams and produces 3D visualisations. In this virtual sandbox, SMEs can plug in their own tools (forecasting algorithms, control software, new asset layouts) and immediately see the effects. For instance, a solar farm twin could use forecasts and historical output data to predict generation and adjust panel angles for maximum yield, while a grid twin shows how adding a battery or wind turbine shifts power flows and voltages. As Professor Martin Freer of Birmingham’s Energy Institute notes, planners can even “visualise… how adding a large solar array or a battery storage unit would affect the local grid and carbon output” before investing³. In practice, this virtual “what-if” testing means every scenario – from overcast days to equipment outages – can be run safely, helping cities design robust, low-carbon energy systems in advance.

Success Stories: Digital Twins Deliver for Clean Energy

Digital twins are already proving their value in energy and sustainability projects worldwide. For example, Nanyang Technological University in Singapore used a campus energy twin to cut power use by about 31%, saving nearly 10,000 tonnes of CO₂ per year⁴ . Similarly, IKEA applied digital twins across many East-Asian stores (millions of square feet of HVAC equipment) and reduced heating/cooling energy use by roughly 30%. In industry, General Electric’s “Digital Wind Farm” uses per-turbine twins to adjust blade angles and yaw in real time, boosting total wind farm output by up to 20%⁵. Even on the grid scale, the UK’s National Grid ESO has built a full transmission-grid twin: operators can now simulate live data from all generators and loads to ensure that high levels of wind and solar feed in smoothly. These cases show digital twins turning raw data into insights that yield big efficiency gains and smoother renewables integration.

Local examples also highlight the benefits of this approach. In Birmingham, the DIATOMIC platform’s Tyseley Energy Park pilot used a detailed energy network twin to identify the best spots for district heat pipes and solar+EV charging hubs – maximising carbon reductions. Aston University is deploying a twin of its new hydrogen fuel-cell facility, aiming to improve performance and reliability of on-site clean power. In another DIATOMIC pilot, a building-performance twin of Aston’s Woodcock Building (a clean-tech incubator) is being used to model heating, cooling and occupancy; the goal is to slash energy waste and smooth out peak demand on campus. These “by-the-book” use cases show exactly how a virtual model can uncover savings and de-risk green projects.

DIATOMIC’s Clean-Energy Twins in the West Midlands

DIATOMIC isn’t just theoretical – it already hosts real energy twins in the region. In Phase 1 (2023–25), the platform supported three energy-related pilots run by Birmingham City University, Aston University and the University of Birmingham. These included a city-wide traffic/air-quality twin, a hydrogen fuel-cell twin, and an integrated energy-systems twin. For example, Aston’s hydrogen twin models the lifecycle of on-site fuel cells to make hydrogen power more reliable, while its Woodcock Building twin (for net-zero efficiency) drives actions to reduce heating/cooling waste. Likewise, local startups have used the platform: Novoville’s Shared Works is a retrofit-management twin they built in DIATOMIC’s sandbox. This tool maps housing stock and suggests insulation/heating upgrades; after a successful pilot, Birmingham City Council awarded Novoville a contract to retrofit 300 homes. These cases demonstrate the path DIATOMIC provides: prove a solution in the virtual city, then scale up through public-sector contracts.

What Challenge 6 Seeks: Data, Integration and Simulations

Challenge 6 is explicitly mapped to Wolverhampton’s GIC renewable goals. The brief invites SMEs to focus on three areas:

• Renewable integration: Identifying optimal sites and connection strategies for solar panels, wind turbines, heat pumps, batteries or other zero-carbon assets in the GIC. A digital twin can overlay proposed installations on the city model and calculate the resulting power flows and network stresses.
• Data optimisation: Harnessing local data (meteorology, current generation and consumption, grid status) to make renewables work harder. This includes smart forecasting of PV/wind output, AI-based control of battery dispatch or microgrid balancing, and other analytics that squeeze the most value from clean energy resources.
• Scenario & risk modeling: Running “what-if” simulations on the twin to stress-test the system. For example: modeling a week of low wind, a grid transformer failure, or a heatwave spike in demand. These scenario analyses reveal weak points and inform backup strategies (e.g. identifying where extra storage or grid upgrades are needed).

Applicants should propose digital-twin solutions that answer questions like “if we add X in the GIC, what happens to loads, voltages and carbon output?” or “can we predict PV output hour-by-hour?”. Crucially, DIATOMIC provides a pre-built city-scale sandbox (Birmingham/Wolverhampton) with live data feeds, so SMEs can hook into the platform rather than starting from scratch.

How SMEs Can Benefit from DIATOMIC

Participating SMEs gain much more than a grant. Aside from a share of ~£100k (£10–20k per project) to develop and demonstrate your twin, the DIATOMIC accelerator offers in-kind access and support that accelerate development:

• Real city-scale sandbox: You get free access to the Azure-based DIATOMIC platform pre-loaded with 3D city models and live streams (traffic, energy meters, weather, etc.). This means you can focus on your core innovation (AI, algorithms, new hardware) while plugging into real data from Wolverhampton/Birmingham.
• Expert mentoring & prototyping: The program provides technical and business support (from CPC and partners) tailored to your needs. Mentors help refine your value proposition, run prototypes rapidly using the live data, and test your solution against real urban cases.
• Pilot opportunities & connections: Winners can trial their tech in actual settings with local authorities or utilities. For instance, an SME could use DIATOMIC’s connection to transport and energy networks to pilot a smart EV-charging algorithm on a Wolverhampton estate. The accelerator also introduces you to city planners, potential customers and investors. Having a DIATOMIC-backed pilot (especially in Wolverhampton or Birmingham) is a strong credibility signal when pitching to councils or funders.
• Follow-on funding & scale: DIATOMIC is part of a wider West Midlands innovation accelerator that has already supported 36 SMEs and attracted ~£23 million in follow-on investment. A successful Challenge 6 project can tap this momentum. Completing a DIATOMIC pilot effectively brands your company as “field-tested in a UK smart-city project” – a status that has helped alumni secure public contracts and private investment.

In short, the accelerator does the heavy lifting so startups don’t have to. With mentors, workshops and a ready-made digital twin environment, you can turn months of work into a city-validated proof-of-concept in half a year.

How to Apply (By 31 August 2025)

DIATOMIC Challenge 6 is open to West Midlands SMEs with a technical solution in the clean energy space (TRL 4+). Eligible companies must be UK-registered, based in the West Midlands and address one of the challenge areas above. The application portal is on Connected Places Catapult’s website, with a deadline of 31 August 2025. An optional support webinar is available (usually in late July) to explain the process and scoring. Shortlisted applicants will be interviewed in September, and up to 10 SMEs (around five focused on energy) will be selected for the October 2025–March 2026 cohort. Successful SMEs receive grant funding, tailored support and access to DIATOMIC’s city data and testbeds through the accelerator.

Don’t miss this opportunity to plug your renewable-energy innovation into a real city context. Use the DIATOMIC platform and Wolverhampton’s data to demonstrate how your solution optimises solar, wind, batteries or district heating in the Green Innovation Corridor. Show how it manages cloudy days or equipment failures in simulation, and how it unlocks decarbonisation and efficiency. With local authorities and national funds backing this agenda, a proven digital-twin pilot in the GIC can open doors to contracts and scaling funding.

Apply by 31 August 2025 on the CPC portal (tell the DIATOMIC team via Agathe.Parois@cp.catapult.org.uk for any questions). This is a launchpad: turn your concept into a city-scale proof and help power the West Midlands’ net-zero future.

1. https://cp.catapult.org.uk/opportunity/diatomic-digital-accelerator/ ↩︎
2. https://www.investwolverhampton.com/documents/green-innovation-corridor.pdf ↩︎
3. https://digitaltwinhub.co.uk/digital-twins-west-midlands ↩︎
4. https://hexagon.com/resources/insights/digital-twin/statistics ↩︎
5. https://www.arcadis.com/en-us/insights/blog/united-states/sara-gusmao-brissi/2025/using-digital-twins-to-decarbonize ↩︎