The Clean Energy Cybersecurity Accelerator (CECA) advances cyber innovation to defend modern, renewable energy technologies against high-priority cybersecurity risks to the energy sector.
Donor Name: National Renewable Energy Laboratory
State: All States
County: All Counties
Type of Grant: Accelerator
Deadline (mm/dd/yyyy): 07/06/2022
Details:
CECA is a unique technology accelerator to foster cyber innovation for modern, renewable energy technologies around high-priority cybersecurity risks to the energy sector. CECA aims to identify the most urgent security gaps in the modern electrical grid and expedite disruptive solutions to market with private and public support. Cohort winners receive a technical assessment of their technologies utilizing National Renewable Energy Laboratory’s (NREL’s) cyber range.
This initiative is sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Cybersecurity, Energy Security, and Emergency Response in collaboration with the Office of Energy, Efficiency, and Renewable Energy, and utility partners: Berkshire Hathaway Energy and Duke Energy. Cohort Theme: Strong Authentication for Distributed Energy Resources CECA Cohort 1 is seeking solutions to address the risk created through lack of strong authentication and authorization within Distributed Energy System (DER) environments. This risk may apply to user management of field devices, interconnection of DER systems, or authentication and authorization of commands. Potential applicants with solutions to mitigate one or more of these risks are encouraged to apply. Solutions need not currently be employed in DERs or the energy sector but should have the potential to adapt to this application.
Benefits of Applying
Solution providers participating in the program will receive the following benefits:
- Exposure to utility partners and the opportunity to demonstrate solutions to their most critical needs. Potential opportunity for trial deployments with the utilities in future.
- Access to NREL’s unique testing and evaluation capabilities such as the Advanced Research on Integrated Energy Systems (ARIES) Cyber Range, which provides advanced simulation environments to evaluate renewable energy system defense.
- National laboratory staff to evaluate the performance of the solution and accelerate the timeline to operational deployment.
- Confidential technical assessment report.
Eligibility Criteria
To be eligible for the program, interested solution providers must:
- Be based in the United States
- Offer technology solutions with strong authentication for distributed energy resources, to protect the modern electrical grid and expedite solutions to market
- Be at a Technology Readiness Level 4 or above as defined by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)
For more information, visit National Renewable Energy Laboratory.
