NSF Engines Development Award: Advancing smart grid technologies in Pacific Northwest (OR, ID, WA)

该区域发动机开发奖的重点是通过智能，公平，不可操作和安全的生态系统实现能源公平和繁荣。SEQUINS的使命是通过协调和连接整个太平洋西北地区的学术机构、新老企业、风险资本和政府的活动，成为区域创新的中心。该地区处于理想的位置，可以在电力部门创造具有全国意义的变革性、行业定义性创新。在该区域内，有各种各样的城市和农村社区，这些社区具有部署可再生能源的有利条件，并且消费者参与计划的能力未得到充分利用。SEQUINS合作伙伴将基于技术必须可靠和安全的原则，创新智能能源产品和服务。在共同的社会技术框架下，即围绕网络物理安全创新建立的可互操作智能电网架构，提供电力基础设施的弹性和安全性，同时确保公平，隐私和信任。SEQUINS团队是一个跨学科的团队，由太平洋西北地区的31个合作伙伴组成。成员组织代表网络安全和电力行业、公用事业客户、地区政府、高等教育机构、尖端研究人员、受影响的利益相关者和创业社区。领先的合作伙伴包括波特兰州立大学、俄勒冈州州立大学、俄勒冈州大学、QualityLogic、Galois和太平洋西北国家实验室。SEQUINS将通过五项核心活动促进生态系统内的开发和创新：1）创业和业务发展，2）使用启发的研究和开发，网络物理安全和最终用户研究，3）互操作性和标准化，4）咨询，宣传和政策支持，5）和劳动力发展。这些活动将促进智能电网技术生态系统的发展，使大规模参与基于开放的通信协议，客户驱动的交易，隐私保护，最先进的网络安全和开放的做法。 SEQUINS将召集利益攸关方，通过四个阶段将活动转化为实践：发现-对区域能力进行数据驱动的调查，发现障碍和驱动因素;提出问题-确定缩小能力差距的长期战略目标，确定跟踪实现目标进展情况的指标;设计-以使用为灵感，务实地寻找缩小差距的解决方案，推动实现战略目标;和选择-创建一个路线图，选择解决方案建议，确定优先级，并在战略上调整这些建议，然后计划实施这些建议所需的工作结构和过程。该区域发动机开发奖将促进研究、创业、工业、资本和政府之间的协调，为整个太平洋西北地区的公平智能电网规划路线图。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

This Regional Engine Development Award is focused on achieving energy equity and prosperity through an ecosystem characterized as Smart, EQUitable, INteroperable, and Secure. The SEQUINS mission is to become a hub of regional innovation by coordinating and connecting the activities of academic institutions, new and established businesses, risk capital, and governments across the Pacific Northwest. This region is ideally positioned to create transformative, industry-defining innovations in the electric power sector that are of national significance. Within the region is a diverse range of urban and rural communities that exhibit favorable conditions for deploying renewable energy and have the underused capacity for consumer-participation programs. SEQUINS partners will innovate smart energy products and services based on the principle that technology must be dependable and safe. Under a common socio-technical framework, namely interoperable smart grid architectures built around cyber-physical security innovations, that provide resilience and security of electrical infrastructure while ensuring equity, privacy, and trust. The SEQUINS team is an interdisciplinary group of 31 partners across the Pacific Northwest. Member organizations represent the cybersecurity and electric power industries, utility customers, regional governments, higher education institutions, cutting-edge researchers, impacted stakeholders, and the entrepreneurial community. Leadership partners include Portland State University, Oregon State University, the University of Oregon, QualityLogic, Galois, and the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory.SEQUINS will promote development and innovation within the ecosystem through five core activities: 1) entrepreneurship and business development, 2) use-inspired research and development, cyber-physical security, and end-user research, 3) interoperability and standardization, 4) consulting, advocacy, and policy support, 5) and workforce development. These activities will foster a smart grid technology ecosystem growth that enables large-scale participation based on open communication protocols, customer-driven transactions, privacy protection, state-of-the-art cybersecurity, and open-to-all practices. SEQUINS will convene stakeholders to translate activities into practice through four phases: Discovery - data-driven investigation of regional capacities, discover barriers and drivers; Problem Formulation - identify long-term strategic goals for closing capacity gaps, identify metrics for tracking progress towards goals; Design - engage in a use-inspired, pragmatic search for solutions that close gaps and create movement towards achieving strategic goals; and Selection - create a roadmap that selects, prioritizes, and strategically aligns the solution proposals, then plan the work structures and processes needed for their implementation. This Regional Engine Development Award will facilitate coordination between research, entrepreneurship, industry, capital, and government to scope a roadmap for an equitable smart grid across the Pacific Northwest.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.