In order to have the most innovative, efficient and successful technologies, energy companies are beginning to realize that they need to look way outside of the box.
During a Tuesday panel at IHS CERAWeek, energy technology experts from around the world came together to discuss changes in their industry.
David Eyton, group head of research and technology at BP Plc (NYSE: BP), explained that although the mission of energy technology is still pretty much the same — companies strive to create safe, efficient technologies that can eventually lead to more and better energy sources — the field is not so secretive and contained anymore.
Judson Jacobs, director of upstream for IHS, said energy companies are “moving more toward … robust and true collaborations,” with other energy companies, the service sector and universities.
In addition to such collaboration, energy technology research and development is also going global, Jacobs said.
While the U.S. and Europe both are traditionally seen as strong sources of technology development, energy companies now are starting to pay attention to new developments in places such as Russia, Brazil, China and the Middle East.
In fact, Vasily Belov, executive director of the energy efficiency cluster at Skolkovo, which is a Russian technology innovation community, spoke about how Russia is pouring vast amounts of money into a city populated with 20,000 residents to encourage new technology developments. The community aims to bridge the gap between ideas developed in universities and businesses applying these ideas to new technologies, Belov said.
Similarly, in the Middle East, i2 is establishing a platform to encourage innovation in areas that historically have not encouraged science and technology developments, i2 founder and CEO Hayat Sindi told the panel.
Although Eyton acknowledged that it is "difficult" for companies such as BP to get connected to companies and organizations in other countries they are not familiar working with, if energy companies want to stay ahead, they will have to go the global route, he said.
Source: bizjournals.com