Department of Energy awards $45M to energy sector cybersecurity projects

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) recently selected 16 projects across the country to receive a total of $45 million meant to bolster cybersecurity in the nation’s energy sector.

Recipients included projects in California, Georgia, Iowa, New York, Kansas, and Texas. Selected projects were chosen for their potential to increase the security, resilience, and reliability of the energy system, in partnership with stakeholders, vendors, national labs, and academic institutions. Projects included everything from the Electric Power Research Institute, Inc.’s efforts to create an artificial intelligence (AI) and data processing capability to respond to cybersecurity issues in California, to an effort by the Georgia Tech Research Corporation to use AI for automated vulnerability assessment and more among distributed energy resources (DER) devices, and Iowa State University of Science and Technology’s push to create resilient technical solutions for the initial stages of future DER-integrated grid infrastructure.

“DOE is committed to strengthening the nation’s energy sector, including protecting it against current or emerging cyber threats that would threaten Americans’ access to secure, reliable energy,” Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm said. “With today’s announcement, the Biden-Harris Administration is helping help teams across the country develop innovative next-generation cybersecurity solutions for tackling modern-day challenges.”

A full list of recipients can be found on the DOE’s website.

All will be managed by the DOE’s Office of Cybersecurity, Energy Security and Emergency Response (CESER). They still must undergo a negotiation process before being given any actual award, so the recipients may change before the process is over.