The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has earmarked up to $70 million in funding to support research into technologies designed to increase resilience to energy delivery infrastructure from hazards that include cyber and physical threats, natural disasters and climate change-fueled extreme weather events.
This new competitive funding opportunity will be available to public and private sector stakeholders, universities and DOE’s National Laboratories.
“Making smart investments in America’s energy systems today is essential to ensuring they’re more reliable and resilient against tomorrow’s threats, while also reaching President Biden’s ambitious clean energy and climate goals,” says Jennifer M. Granholm, U.S. energy secretary. “As we build our clean energy future, these investments will help save money in the long run by identifying and developing innovative solutions that ensure our nation’s energy infrastructure can withstand emerging threats and the challenges of a changing world.”
The All-Hazards Energy Resilience program, managed by DOE’s Office of Cybersecurity, Energy Security, and Emergency Response is expected to fund up to 25 research, development and demonstration projects in awards ranging from $500,000 to $5 million.
Proposed topic areas for the projects include research and development of cyber, climate and wildfire mitigation and physical security.