The Global Centre for Risk and Innovation (GCRI)
Technology relevant to energy, critical infrastructure and climate and hazards: what it can do, the constraints it faces and its consequences for people and institutions.
Fig.How a finding is reviewed before it is published. Design, not a record.
Innovation at Energy Nexus is the evaluation of technology relevant to energy: the need it addresses, the evidence behind it, its constraints and its consequences for safety, rights and the environment. Promising work can be built in Nexus Foundry and tested in Nexus Universe; nothing is called proven before test and review, and no product is endorsed.
Where demand concentrates in cities and the rail, road and port corridors that move fuel and equipment, shown for the Black Sea region as an example geography for this subject.
Which problem does the technology address, and for whom?
What has been demonstrated, under what conditions, and what remains untested?
Cost, skills, infrastructure, data and governance requirements.
Effects on safety, rights, equity and the environment.
| Technology | What it could change | What remains to be shown |
|---|---|---|
| Grid-forming inverters | Stability services from inverter-based resources as synchronous generation retires | Performance in weak grids and during large disturbances |
| Long-duration storage | Coverage of multi-day renewable lulls | Cost, round-trip efficiency, materials and scale |
| Dynamic line rating | More transmission capacity from existing lines when weather allows | Sensor reliability and operator acceptance |
| Demand flexibility at scale | Peak reduction without new supply | Consumer participation and market design |
| Advanced nuclear and small modular reactors | Firm low-carbon supply | Licensing, cost, fuel supply and siting |
Promising work can be built in Nexus Foundry and tested under controlled conditions through Nexus Universe. No technology is described as proven before it has been tested and reviewed.
Each term as this page uses it. Where a standard-setting body defines the term, the wording follows that body.
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Technology readiness level | A scale from basic principles to proven operation that describes how mature a technology is. |
| Responsible innovation | Anticipating and governing the effects of new technology together with society. |
| Testbed | A controlled setting, from a lab rig to a field site or sandbox, for trying a technology before it meets real conditions of use. |
| Grid resilience | A power system's ability to withstand, absorb and recover from high-impact events such as storms, heat waves and cyberattacks. |
The bodies and documents this page is read against. Status and editions change; each link goes to the issuing body.
The current service level is R0: information and enquiries. An enquiry receives a reference and names the next step; applications, payments, compute allocations and registrations open only when their team, terms and review capacity exist.