AES Looking for Drones and Robotics Solutions to Improve the Safety and Availability of Its Plants
November 07 2016 - 7:00AM
Business Wire
The Company Announces Open Innovation Contest For Unmanned
Inspections in Extreme Heat, Improving Safety and Helping Solve $1B
Problem for the Global Electric Utility Industry
The AES Corporation (NYSE:AES) today announced the advancement
of its efforts to lead transformation in the energy industry with
an open innovation contest targeted at improving the safety and
increasing availability of power plants through unmanned
inspections in extreme heat.
Andrés Gluski, AES President and CEO, said, “AES takes our
mission of improving lives seriously and recognizes that today’s
energy solutions must evolve to meet tomorrow’s needs. Engaging and
collaborating with great thinkers outside our company and industry
allows us to extend our internal innovation capabilities to create
the best solutions for the future.”
AES has a history of innovation in the industry, starting with
the company’s founding as one of the U.S.’s first independent power
producers and continuing through today as the world’s leading
provider of energy storage solutions through its Advancion® product
and leading user of drone-based applications in the electricity
sector. The company remains committed to its efforts to turn ideas
into real solutions by focusing on three areas that impact its
ability to improve lives: developing a clean, unbreakable grid;
creating a safer, smarter workplace; and considering the full
energy value chain when seeking solutions to meet the challenges of
growing communities and economies around the world.
To further its efforts to create a safer, smarter workplace, AES
is launching an Open Innovation Contest in partnership with
NineSigma, a company with extensive external resources and
connections to accelerate innovation.
It is estimated that more than 20,000 MW of generation capacity
is offline globally at all times due in part to outage-related
inspections, reducing the ability of electric grids to absorb
variable renewable sources like wind and solar. These outages
represent $1B in lost power capacity, nearly the energy consumption
in the state of Virginia every year. Electricity generation can
require extreme heat conditions. When a system failure occurs that
halts electricity generation and we need to inspect and repair
equipment, we must wait until temperatures reach a sufficiently low
level for someone with personal protective equipment to enter the
confined space safely to inspect and repair the equipment. It not
only can be hazardous work, but also increases the time it takes
the company to begin generating electricity again.
AES is looking for innovative unmanned technologies to conduct
inspection work that can resist extreme heat and keep our people
safe while improving energy availability by getting plants back
online more quickly. Responses and potential solutions are being
requested from other companies, consultants, venture capitalists,
entrepreneurs or inventors. Three winners will be recognized and
rewarded at AES’ global Innovation Congress in July 2017 held at
its Corporate Headquarters in the Washington, D.C. metro area. The
company is accepting proposals through February 28, 2017.
For more information about the contest, please go to
www.aes.com. #beattheheat
About AES
The AES Corporation (NYSE:AES) is a Fortune 200 global power
company. We provide affordable, sustainable energy to 17 countries
through our diverse portfolio of distribution businesses as well as
thermal and renewable generation facilities. Our workforce of
21,000 people is committed to operational excellence and meeting
the world’s changing power needs. Our 2015 revenues were $15
billion and we own and manage $37 billion in total assets. To learn
more, please visit www.aes.com. Follow AES on Twitter
@TheAESCorp.
About NineSigma
NineSigma connects organizations with external innovation
resources to accelerate innovation in private, public and social
sectors. NineSigma has the largest open global network of solution
providers and an extensive database of existing solutions spanning
numerous industries and technical disciplines. In 2015, the company
was again named to the Inc. 5000 list of fastest growing private
companies in America. Learn more at www.ninesigma.com or
www.ninesights.com.
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The AES CorporationInvestors:Ahmed Pasha,
703-682-6451orMedia:Vincent Sipowicz, 703-682-6476
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