The disruptions the world faces today pose existential challenges to the way we have been doing things for the last century. Climate change in particular challenges our use of hydrocarbons as fuel to drive our energy systems. Not only that, but it also challenges our economic systems that are driven by growth based on the cheap energy provided by hydrocarbons.
Technical answers to these challenges are more important than ever.
The energy industry, from upstream oil and gas to electricity generators are used to large scale developments of commodity technology. All of a sudden, this industry is faced with scaling up new technologies.
The stages of scaling up a technology are well described by NASA’s Technical Readiness Levels (TRL). It makes sense that NASA, more than virtually any other organisation, has been highly exposed to novel technology.
Technical excellence therefore starts with technical readiness, before progressing through operational readiness and then improving through feedback from use.
Some companies choose to buy the technology when ready rather than develop it. For many companies this is a preferrable course of action as their organisation does not fit well with the detailed technical focus required for technology development. In this instance, technical due diligence is probably more important than financial due diligence.
The need for specialist technical expertise in each of these phases is therefore heightened by current circumstances. TAM’s model of providing genuine technical expertise is therefore invaluable in these times. Much of our recent work has been technical readiness, technical due diligence and operational readiness.
TAM Consultants 