Energy research is the focus of an upcoming event in the nation's capital. The Strategic Energy Institute, hosted by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), will present research findings related to new services and opportunities being created as the energy industry continues its trend towards digitalization. 

The digitalization of industries is leading to new services and opportunities for firms, regions, and economies. Networked, digital systems that are connected to the traditional, physical energy infrastructure are growing exponentially. The overlap between these systems and computing, big data, and physical infrastructure is creating a need for new resources, particularly in regards to the safety and security of operational structures and personal consumer information.  

As part of the CSIS Energy & National Security Program and the Technology Policy Program, SEI Executive Director Tim Lieuwen will share findings and implications of the recently released study "Industrial Data and Regional Economic Development". The research, funded by the Energy, Policy, and Innovation Center, is being conducted by Tim Lieuwen; Richard Simmons, EPICenter director; Kerri Metz, EPICenter research associate; Jennifer Clark, Center for Urban Innovation director; Thomas Lodato, Center for Urban Innovation research scientist; and Supraja Sudharsan, Center for Urban Innovation research assistant. The study, which is in its first phase of ongoing research into industrial data and regional economic development, focuses on new services and opportunities created for companies and regions as the energy industry continues its trend toward digitalization. The goal is to evaluate the nature of changes brought about by digitalization as they relate to the production and use of industrial data. 

The session will begin with a presentation by Dr. Lieuwen, who will explain the research findings. Barbara Humpton will join the discussion to provide perspective on the ecosystem emerging around the digitalization of the energy industry, examining digitalization's potential to simultaneously help increase reliability, decrease cost, and reduce environmental impacts. Speakers will also explain the behavioral standards for those firms handling data from the industrial sector, the role policy plays in the regulation of data transparency/ownership, and which actors have the most influence to establish and define values in this emerging sector.