"Data Science for Resilience" was the first call launched on the "Terna Ideas" open innovation platform, launched in December 2022, with the aim of improving the resilience of Italy's electricity transmission grid against extreme weather events, which consists of more than 75,000 km of high-voltage power lines and more than 900 electrical stations.
Initially, 71 startups participated in the challenge, proposing artificial intelligence-based solutions to optimize predictive maintenance and monitoring of electrical infrastructure, with the goal of increasing its safety and efficiency in the face of increasingly extreme and unpredictable weather events. After a selection phase that ended with a demo day in May where the ten finalists were presented, Terna chose two startups to collaborate and test innovative solutions: Eoliann and Fast Computing.
Over the past few months, Terna's innovation hubs have been working closely with the two startups to take an in-depth look at usage scenarios, scopes, performance metrics, and project duration.
Eoliann is a Turin-based startup specializing in climate-related technologies. They use satellite data and machine learning algorithms to predict extreme weather events, improving the resilience of electricity infrastructure. The collaboration with Terna focuses on using satellite imagery to assess hydraulic hazard in areas at risk. This will provide the company with a useful tool in planning work regarding new power lines and managing those already in use, in areas most at risk of extreme weather events.
Fast Computing is a Trieste-based startup from the applied mathematics research group of the International School of Advanced Studies, which develops statistical models and computational technologies for real-time data analysis. For Terna, they are creating a predictive maintenance model based on company data in order to anticipate possible anomalies and maintenance needs at power stations.
Terna's goal is to make the high-voltage transmission infrastructure safer, more sustainable and resilient through innovation. Massimiliano Garri, director of Innovation & Market Solutions at Terna, commented, "We are extremely pleased with the participation and enthusiasm with which the startups have taken up this challenge, created to discover advanced technological solutions that will make the high-voltage transmission infrastructure increasingly safe, sustainable and resilient. We firmly believe that innovation is one of the main drivers of the energy transition and that doing innovation means working with startups to introduce new tools and technologies that are crucial to the evolution of the electricity sector."
