DEVELOPING A TECHNOLOGY READINESS ASSESSMENT METHODOLOGY FOR AN ENERGY COMPANY

摘要

Petrobras, a Brazilian energy company, funds many universities and R&D institutions and performs internal R&D projects with high level of innovation. It is a challenge to effectively manage an R&D portfolio that has more than 800 projects, at different maturity levels, so a Technology Readiness Assessment (TRA) methodology is an important tool to support technology management. The Chemical Industry Information System (SIQUIM), a group actively involved in technology and innovation management from the Chemical School of the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, was invited to develop methodology with Petrobras. A task force was created to reach this goal, taking into consideration, as a reference, the TRA guide G 413.3-4A by the U.S. Department of Energy (DoE). It was decided to keep the same concepts, process model and technology readiness levels of this original methodology, in order to preserve comparability. Petrobras selected four projects within its areas of knowledge, at distinct readiness levels, taking into account the different business cultures within areas, to be used as pilot projects for the development of the Petrobras TRA methodology, in a one-year timeframe, and considering the original DoE methodology as background. The new managing tool to be created should be suitable, effective and easy to apply in the Energy and Oil & Gas environment, using the existent technical and business jargon of the company. A Peer Reviewer, TRA Team and its leader were nominated for each project. A survey about TRA methodologies and implementation experiences available in the specialized literature was conducted, as well as a visit to a company, which had already developed its own TRA managing system. The adaptation and fit of the methodology to the energy business environment was performed, and the four projects were evaluated using this new tool. The deliverable of the work was Petrobras' TRA Methodology, which encompasses two versions of the Technology Readiness Level Calculator spreadsheet: a full version for the most critical, strategic and resources demanding projects, and a simplified version for appraising the regular projects of this large project portfolio.