Utility Week

UTILITY WEEK | 8TH - 14TH JUNE 2018 | 15 and that is converted by bacteria into sulphuric acid. To solve the problem, Wessex Water turned to Dr Ian Bateman, a networks consultant from Australia, who verified that calcium aluminate cement (CAC) would resist acid attack. Sydney Water has been using CAC as a corrosion bar- rier for more than 15 years. If you have an asset or project you would like to see featured in this slot, email: paulnewton@fav-house.com Pipe up Gianluca Mauro Staff in senior positions in the energy industry must understand the complex technologies that are coming together to form what I like to call the Internet of Energy. What is the internet, at its most basic? It is a network, on which people and machines exchange information. The energy industry is following suit. The aim is to move away from a system in which the big utilities pump power downhill towards a group of passive consum- ers. Instead, the sector is working to build a network in the truest sense, where people produce, consume and exchange energy, peer-to-peer. Enabling this shi are three key technologies: blockchain, big data and artificial intelligence. These technologies are available today. There is nothing stand- ing in our way except, perhaps, our mindset. In the energy sector, we have an abundance of hugely talented engineers, innovating to solve just about any problem you can imagine. But there is no benefit in hav- ing these workers and solutions at your disposal if the leader- ship is unsure of how to use them. This is the problem the industry faces. Senior execu- tives and senior operational people such as engineers and business development manag- ers must develop a digital mindset. Companies must become technology companies, rather than legacy companies in possession of technol- ogy that they do not understand. Fundamentally, this is why Amazon is so success- ful. Built with technology at its heart, it is an internet business, not a shop. The energy sector is awash with promising tech talent, but it must be given opportunities to build the solutions it knows it is capable of. The solution is education. I do not mean deep, technical courses. Rather, we need courses geared towards helping those in senior positions understand the underlying dynamics behind these technologies. They do not need to be able to use the tools, but they do need to know what they are used for and how to build a business to support their use. This is the thinking behind a new course on the Internet of Energy, which I have been developing in conjunction with InnoEnergy. It takes the form of a sum- mer bootcamp, and we aim to quickly get energy leaders up to speed so they understand the basic principles that underpin the technologies that are shaping the future of their sector – and can steer their respective ships in the right direction. Gianluca Mauro, co-founder and CEO, AI Academy "Senior staff in the energy industry must understand the technologies of what I like to call the Internet of Energy." "The energy sector must be given opportunities to build the solutions it knows it is capable of" Operations & Assets

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