Integrated Computational Materials Engineering (ICME) Capability Maturity Levels for Ecosystems Enabling Digital Transformation

The article assesses the Technology Readiness Level (TRL) according to the developed TRL checklist. The TRL approach has been applied to analyzing the technology readiness level of a Russian start-up company producing systems of multisensory and multifunction devices for Smart House. The authors approbated the modified TRL methodology, which made it possible to evaluate the readiness of technologies’ integration among themselves and to get a generalized assessment of the readiness of the technologies’ system – Integration Readiness Levels (IRL). It has been proved that the System Readiness Level (SRL) of technology corresponds to the design concept stage. Taking into account indicators and means of quality assurance at the stages of design and initiation of such production is highly relevant.

The future being shaped by Industry 4.0 has arrived. Tools are available that anticipate the future, approximate it, estimate it, and select a preferred future; but do we know how to make disruptive futures part of our business and lives? Building on technology readiness levels and manufacturing readiness levels, future readiness levels and a future readiness index are suggested in this paper. The future readiness levels (FRL) are based on readiness at the capability levels of technology, behaviour, event, and future thinking. A future readiness index (FRI) is then determined, based on the entire future thinking space (technology, behaviour, events, and capability to do future thinking). Once the FRL and FRI are known, it will become clear what strategic interventions are required to thrive in a preferred future. The existing and desired situations in future readiness are compared, and the gaps are addressed. This approach provides a tool for the internal monitoring and evaluation of the state of the organisation to remain sustainable and competitive in a future that is fast arriving; to compare organisations competitively in a similar cluster; to benchmark at industry level; and ultimately to have the potential to measure the future readiness of nations.

The dynamics of innovation in complex products and systems (CoPS) differs from the mass production industries. Integration Readiness Levels (IRL) represent technology maturity related to the integration of two or more technological elements in a system, addressing Technology Readiness Levels (TRL) application challenges. Earned readiness management (ERM) is a method for scheduling, monitoring, and evaluating the development of complex product systems. ERM could incorporate IRL advances, practitioners are adopting IRL and understanding its differences from TRL, and it is relevant to approach technology development projects in a system for value delivery in CoPS. The objective is to identify IRL-oriented work packages to establish ERM for space systems aiming at the application of ERM in CoPS technology development projects. This paper used NASA WBS standards for space flight and for research and technology projects to identify which work package elements could relate to IRL and compose ERM, and used ISO/IEC/IEEE 15288 life cycle process definitions to support the analysis. The results could be expanded to other CoPS sectors as they used broad systems engineering concepts and standards.

The mission/vision of the Electrochemical Society (ECS) as twofold: 1) to encourage research and dissemination of electrochemical and solid-state science basic understanding and theoretical knowledge, and 2) to promote electrochemical and solid-state science innovation, technology and practice for the public interest. The ECS members, associate members and community address both prongs of the mission/vision and comprise Nobel Prize recipients, National Medal of Technology and Innovation awardees, world-class researchers, scientists, engineers, technologists, entrepreneurs, inventors, and the next generation of student scientists, engineers and innovators.Electrochemical and solid-state science basic understanding and theoretical knowledge provide the foundation for technology, inventions, and commercial products and processes. However, there is a disconnect between the theoretical knowledge generated from scientific research and the practical knowledge required to develop commercial products and processes.The overwhelming majority of the content published in ECS peer-reviewed journals and presented at ECS biannual meetings consists of scientific research to advance the theory of electrochemical and solid-state science. While not as prevalent, electrochemical and solid-state science innovations, technology and inventions are published in the ECS edited journal Interface and are presented at ECS biannual meetings.I examined the content of past and planned ECS biannual meetings during the 15-year period between 2011 and 2026. This examination revealed 17 symposia specifically addressing commercialization of electrochemical and solid-state technologies and strategies for bridging the gap between theoretical knowledge and practical knowledge. Many of the strategies involved university/federal lab spinout companies, startup companies or stand-alone small businesses.The strategies for bridging the knowledge gap included both technical and non-technical issues. Some of the concepts presented in these symposia were the subject of a special issue of Interface 1,2,3,4 and were captured in a volume in the Advances in Electrochemical Science and Engineering series.5 Translational research strategies included, 1) moving the technology from lab to product/process, 2) advancing the Technology Readiness Level (TRL) and Manufacturing Readiness Level (MRL), 3) demonstrating the technology at the α-scale and β-scale, and 4) validating pre-production prototypes. Non-technical tangential issues included financial and intellectual property strategies. Financial issues included, 1) dealing with angel and professional investors, 2) trade-offs between debt and equity financing, and 3) understanding cash-flow vis-à-vis Profit/Loss (P&L) and balance sheets. Intellectual property issues included, 1) patent basics, 2) Freedom to Operate (FTO) analysis, 3) licensing strategies and 4) dealing with Technology Transfer Offices (TTO).The issues identified in these past and future symposia should form the foundation of a recurring symposium addressing the challenges and opportunities for commercializing electrochemical and solid-state technologies. Further, these recurring symposia could be coordinated with all ECS divisions through the Interdisciplinary Science and Technology Subcommittee (ISTS). Finally, I hope to stimulate thinking and engagement from past symposium organizers as well as current ECS division leadership, members, students and the broader community in the development of these symposia.The author would like to acknowledge helpful discussions with colleagues and members of ECS staff.References Leddy and J. Leddy “Is Commercialization of Intellectual Property in an Academic Environment Possible?” Electrochem. Soc. Interface 32 55 (2023).F. Savinell and J.S. Wainright “Iron Flow Battery with Slurry Electrode for Large Scale Energy Storage: Scale-Up, Intellectual Property, and Commercialization Challenges” Electrochem. Soc. Interface 32 61 (2023).D. Hilty and T.Clay ”The Path from Scientific Discovery to Electrochemical Product Realization ”Electrochem. Soc. Interface 32 65 (2023).G. Botte “Transitioning Electrochemical Technologies into Agriculture via the National Science Foundation Engineering Research Center Model” Electrochem. Soc. Interface 32 69 (2023).C. Alkire, P.N. Bartlett, M. Koper (Eds.) Advances in Electrochemical Science and Engineering, Electrochemical Engineering: The Path from Discovery to Product (Vol. 18) Wiley-VCH (2018).

Both the American Petroleum Institute (API) 17N: 2009 and Det Norske Veritas (DNV) RP-A203 (2011) recommend that the technologies inserted into subsea installations should be assessed during design and manufacturing using a technology readiness level (TRL) scale. This should be used as a measure of maturity of all the individual technologies, for qualification and readiness assurance. This paper proposes the creation of a system-based approach for managing the development of subsea systems and making effective decisions to ensure the efficient progress of the project. It recommends complementing TRL with an integration readiness level (IRL) scale, to address IRL between the inserted technologies, along with a system readiness level (SRL) scale to assess the overall project status. It also presents a method for combining the current TRL scale and the proposed new IRL scale to determine an estimate of SRL at all stages of a subsea system development. This provides a composite metric for determining the system readiness level for project delivery. The application of the new proposed scales is demonstrated using a case example.

Application of Systems Readiness Level Methods in Advanced Fossil Energy Applications

Objectives: To improve the modern approach to assessment of technology readiness level in the case of development of technology for high-tech industries, the products of which significantly affect environmental ecology. A vivid example of this kind of industries is the aviation industry. Methods: Such methods of research as systematic and logical approach, economic analysis and model development are applied. Findings: The main research finding is the development of a new additional readiness level “Ecology”, for which questions and required evidence necessary for passing it in the framework of the modified technology readiness level chain were formulated. An innovative parallel civilian aircraft constructional design concept was developed with consideration of the formulated additional ecological technology readiness level. Applications/Improvement: The possibility of practical implementation of the proposed approach is shown by filling the aviation technology validation checklist which includes requirements for aviation environmental protection. The necessity of final validation of aviation technology aimed at reducing the negative impact of aircraft on the environment is illustrated and justified. Keywords: Aviation Technology Validation, Civil Aviation, Eco Design, Ecology, Technology Readiness Levels

Development of micro-reactors that can be easily transported to remote areas for civilian or military applications is an immediate focus of U.S. nuclear industry and therefore is being pursued by multiple reactor vendors (e.g. HolosGen LLC, Westinghouse, Ultra Safe Nuclear Corporation, URENCO, etc.) and actively supported by DOE-NE, DOE-ARPA-E and by the Department Of Defense (DoD). Very-high-temperature gas-cooled (VHTR) and heat pipe cooled reactor technologies are regarded as promising concepts for microreactors applications since they enable compact power conversion systems and display beneficial inherent safety features. Development of microreactors with enhanced performance must be supported by innovations in nuclear technologies. Several technologies being developed by the microreactor industry are being revisited with material technologies developed at the Argonne National Laboratory (ANL). Innovative high-temperature compatible solutions are developed to enable advanced thermal-spectrum microreactor designs featuring improved neutronics performance at high-temperature operating conditions to enable high thermal efficiency and economic competitiveness. This report focuses on the Versatile Heat Transfer Module (VHTM) technology that is developed at ANL for heat-transfer in thermal-spectrum microreactors. This technology is built on a liquid alkali metal heat pipe concept while leveraging advanced nuclear material technologies for high-temperature applications at reduced neutronic penalty with potential improvement in inherent safety behavior. The VHTM can be applied to design high-temperature thermal-spectrum microreactor systems with reduced size, weight, uranium enrichment, or increased lifetime. The INFINIT technology deriving from the VHTM enables design of a highly compact long-life microreactor concept for fission surface power (FSP). Demonstration of multiphysics modeling capability was also completed to showcase the added inherent safety benefits obtained with this concept. The VHTM technology remain at an early development stage with low Technology Readiness Level and Manufacturing Readiness Level. The current demonstration of these technologies has focused on manufacturing capability, on performance of the hydrogen diffusion barrier under thermal cycling, while radiation tolerance demonstration is planned. The next step of the demonstration plan will be the assembly of miniature VHTM for high-temperature testing, which can be used as a prototype for future pilot scale demonstration. Such research is critical to pursue development of these technologies that have the clear potential to significantly improve the performance of currently investigated micro-reactors systems.

This case study used a technology readiness level (TRL), market attractiveness level (MAL), and customer readiness level (CRL) to measure the prospect of promising products. The TRL, MAL, and CRL were measured using Delphi methods. A TRL is composed of basic research as well as experimental, prototype, practical, and commercial stages. A market attractiveness level is made up of global market size, global market growth rate, and government policy suitability. A customer readiness level was measured using consumer preference. The promising products were mainly selected as information communication and software related products. Among the technologies and products announced by domestic and foreign organizations, products suitable for research and development tasks of small and medium-sized enterprises were selected. The results of this case study are expected to be committed for the enhancement of the success rate of commercialization for small and medium-sized enterprises by being dedicated to the R&D planning of small and medium-sized enterprises in the ICT (Information and Communication Technology)/SW (Software)) field and proposing a direction to pursue the business. The purpose of this paper is to propose an approach to measure the prospect of promising products by using three levels: TRL, MAL, and CRL, which are measured using Delphi methods. This approach aims to enhance the success rate of commercialization for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

Composite materials manufacturing industry is one of the world's hi-tech industry. Manufacturing of wind turbine blades is one of the specialized fields requiring high degree of precision and composite manufacturing techniques. This paper identifies the industries specializing in the composite manufacturing and is able to manufacture wind turbines blades in Pakistan. In the second phase, their technology readiness level is determined, based on some factors and then a readiness level are assigned to them. The assigned technology readiness level will depict the absorptive capacity of each manufacturing unit and its capability to take on such projects. The individual readiness level of manufacturing unit will then be used to establish combined technology readiness level of Pakistan particularly for wind turbine blades manufacturing. The composite manufacturing industry provides many spin offs and a diverse range of products can be manufactured using this facility. This research will be helpful to categorize the strong points and flaws of local industry for the gap analysis. It can also be used as a prerequisite study before the evaluation of technologies and specialties to improve the industry of the country for the most favorable results. This will form a basic data base which can be used for the decision making related to transfer of technology, training of local skilled workers and general up-gradation of the local manufacturing units.

On the way to raising the technology readiness level of diamond electrolysis

This paper explores and describes the Human Readiness Levels for implementing control centres managing automated system remotely. We have explored a case from the oil and gas industry managing production facilities and a case from an automated ferry in the maritime industry. The concept of Human Readiness Level (HRL) is inspired by the Technology Readiness Level (TRL) originally promoted by NASA in the ´70s. We have not found case description of HRL in the oil and gas industry or in the maritime industry. TRL was used to establish a common understanding of the state of technology development from concept to operations and has been adopted by government and industry. TRL has been adopted by API (API17N) to be used in the oil and gas industry to ensure good decisions about the inclusion, development, and integration of new technology in complex systems. The purpose of the HRL taxonomy is to assess the readiness of a technology to be used by the intended users in a defined operational context. As concepts of automation, AI and remote operations is continuously implemented we have observed the challenge of missing focus on human systems design, Human Factors (HF), and organizational readiness, leading to poor safety, productivity, and usability. Combining technology optimism with the knowledge of human factors as described by the HRL guidelines (ANSI/HFSE 400-2021) should help establish a common understanding of the state of human readiness from concept to operations. This is needed, as we have observed that poor focus on HF design has been a significant root cause (i.e., 60% to 80%) in accidents and failures. We have seen “human errors” as a cause i.e., a result of poor design and poor consideration of human possibilities and limitations. We see the need to prioritize the early phases of development (such as concept and design) since the cost of changes is increasing nearly exponentially as the development moves forward from concept through design. The lifecycle cost may be 100-1,000 higher in later phases than in concept or early design phase. We have used the standard ISO 11064/ISO 9241-200 as a framework for development, and the CRIOP method as a supporting tool to perform verification and validation of the development. The purpose of this paper is to describe key challenges related to automation and meaningful human control from the oil and gas industry and the maritime industry. How the HRL taxonomy can improve and support safety, productivity and usability by key tasks and key products/documentation in relation to a system engineering model as described by ISO 11064/ISO 9241-200. How industry and government can utilize the HRL guidelines to mitigate the key challenges and reduce risks in an optimal manner to reduce cost of change and appropriate Management of Change (MoC).

PurposeThis study aims to focused on conducting a comprehensive assessment of the technology readiness level (TRL) of Iran’s oil field intelligence compared to other countries with similar oil reservoirs. The ultimate objective is to optimize oil extraction from this field by leveraging intelligent technology. Incorporating intelligent technology in oil fields can significantly simplify operations, especially in challenging-to-access areas and increase oil production, thereby generating higher income and profits for the field owner.Design/methodology/approachThis study evaluates the level of maturity of present oil field technologies from the perspective of an intelligent oil field by using criteria for measuring the readiness of technologies. A questionnaire was designed and distributed to 18 competent oil industry professionals. Using weighted criteria, a mean estimate of oil field technical maturity was derived from the responses of respondents. Researchers evaluated the level of technological readiness for Brunei, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia’s oil fields using scientific studies.FindingsNone of the respondents believe that the intelligent oil field in Iran is highly developed and has a TRL 9 readiness level. The bulk of experts believed that intelligent technologies in the Iran oil industry have only reached TRL 2 and 1, or are merely in the transfer phase of fundamental and applied research. Clearly, Brunei, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia have the most developed oil fields in the world. In Iran, academics and executive and contracting firms in the field of intelligent oil fields are working to intelligently develop young oil fields.Originality/valueThis study explores the level of maturity of intelligent technology in one of Iran’s oil fields. It compares it to the level of maturity of intelligent technology in several other intelligent oil fields throughout the globe. Increasing intelligent oil fields TRL enables better reservoir management and causes more profit and oil recovery.

Public sector organizations have difficulty avoiding cost or schedule variances that exhaust the resources of a project, and deploy digital initiatives to combat them without clear evidence of a quantifiable return on investment (ROI). This investigation determined if digital initiatives have a measurable ROI for major projects. A systematic review questioned, In public sector organizations, does the evidence suggest that the application of operational excellence ensures an ROI from digital initiatives? Scientific Management was the theoretical lens. The findings and conclusions of 43 peer-reviewed scholarly articles provided data on operational excellence, digitalization, synergy, and benefits. This research improves understanding of how to quantify and deliberately plan the impact of digital initiatives. The conclusion is that mangers should optimize digital outcomes by 1. Selecting the intended human outcome (customer value or staff effectiveness), then 2. Making five key management choices, 3. Choosing an operational excellence toolset, and 4. Implementing the appropriate Industry 4.0 technology.

The paper analyzes the planning system, development, and quality of the production of helicopters on the world market. The process of planning and developing helicopters is carried out in a PLM system (Product Lifecycle Management) by American and European enterprises. The authors of the paper note that the development of products and projects by foreign aviation enterprises, as a rule, is carried out using advanced electronic layout technology, with the original design documentation in the form of an electronic model. The structure of the PLM system, which is a part of the “Teamcenter” complex system, is considered in detail. It solves the most important tasks related to the organization of the enterprises management (including aviation), increasing the efficiency of applying product knowledge and stimulating the application of this knowledge to implement innovative solutions at all stages of the product life cycle. In order to assess the level of the availability of technology in developing various aviation projects, the TRL (Technology Readiness Level) technique is used. The authors note that the process of the development, production, and release of the advanced helicopters is directly related to the innovative technological triad, which includes technology readiness levels, production readiness levels, and technology integration levels in the current production process. In conclusion, the authors present an example of building an aviation project using the technology readiness level.