The future of the ESO and Artificial Intelligence

What is an Energy AI Centre of Excellence?

The project was established to put the necessary structures and world-class resources in place to grow the organisation’s data science capabilities, helping to make the ESO an attractive place for data scientists to come and work.

The AI Centre of Excellence will create an ongoing pipeline of talent by building partnerships with academia, industry, networks and tech ecosystems. It will make the ESO more appealing to prospective candidates by promoting opportunities to work on cutting edge projects where data science skills positively impact society and the planet.

The long-term vision for the AI Centre of Excellence is to establish a collective AI workforce and resource hub for the whole GB Energy Industry, which can be accessed and used by industry stakeholders to accelerate decarbonisation and digitalisation to meet our net zero targets across UK.

Why are we building this?

Expanding data science capacity and capabilities in the ESO and the wider energy industry will open up a whole new world of possibilities, where AI and ML (Machine Learning) is used to deliver the insights and tools required to meet net zero targets. The AI Centre of Excellence will provide a pool of experts, improving existing data-focused activities and enhancing the security and reliability the electricity network. This helps to drive our digitalisation strategy, which is integral to the energy transition.

So, what would such an Energy AI Hub include?

The AI Centre of Excellence is designed to create five core functions:

Central library which serves as an open collaboration space for best practice, coding expertise and knowledge sharing between energy industry and data science community.

Academy which encompasses a talent pipeline fostering the next generation of data scientists, expanding the current AI workforce knowledge, and designing learning pathways for digital roles.

Resource marketplace provides access to global AI experts at your fingertips to solve business challenges while ensuring secure and presumed open data exchange between stakeholders involved.

Resource exchange builds partnerships facilitating the exchange of industry knowledge and resources while providing opportunities for cross-industry work placements, secondments, and internships.

Experimental Lab serves as a sandbox facility that integrates into the digital ecosystem to trial innovative solutions with various stakeholders and partners.

Next steps

After successfully outlining its vision, the project is now moving into the Minimal Viable Product (MVP) stage, where the team will start the build process and expand on the five core functions described above. Through these functions, the project team will collaborate to demonstrate how Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning can add value to the ESO.

If you’d like to know more about the AI Centre of Excellence and how you can get involved, get in touch: [email protected].