Why are the current research portfolios not always enough? Can you actually make a meaningful disruption in a short time? DHRTCs R&D Director Lars Simonsen and member of the Technology Application Workgroup (TAW) Hans-Henrik Kogsbøll, Production Technology Discipline Lead at Maersk Oil give their view on the importance of radical sprints and disruptions in a research setting.
The DHRTC Radical Innovation Sprint Programme was initiated in 2017 as part of the DHRTC strategy to improve oil recovery in the Danish Part of the North Sea. One wonders why ideas for radical innovation were called for 3 years into the lifetime of DHRTC.
"Radical Innovation Sprint is one way of creating a meaningful disruption"
Lars Simonsen, R&D Director, DHRTC
“As R&D Director I have to ensure both researchers and the Oil and Gas advisors in the DHRTC Technology Maturation group always try to push the existing boundaries beyond any reasonable likelihood of success. I don’t believe the answer to enhanced recovery only lies within the known challenges and disciplines. We have to be dreamers. The DHRTC Radical Innovation Sprint is a breathing room for researchers regardless of discipline or knowledge of the oil and gas industry to take their creativity to the extreme – and be applauded even if they prove their hypothesis wrong,” explains Lars Simonsen.
The Radical Innovation Sprint in 2017 proved to be a success. A committee of researchers and industry professionals evaluated the 53 anonymized applications. The 13 researchers who were funded challenged themselves as well as DHRTCs existing portfolio.
“From the industry perspective, it is important that we challenge DHRTC and the researchers. They are to solve challenges we did not know we had and seek solutions in areas and disciplines, which we have not traditionally approached. DHRTC is meant to uncover what we cannot as an operator. We were amazed to see the work of the 13 Radical Innovation Sprint projects of 2017 at the DHRTC Technology Conference in November and the projects were not even finalized,” says Hans-Henrik Kogsbøll.
The projects were carried out from 1 September to 30 November as a one-off funding. Some proved their hypothesis wrong within a fortnight. Others managed to prove part of their theory and really wished they did not have to end their research after the three months were up.
About one quarter of the funded projects involved researchers who were very new to the oil and gas industry. The remainder had varying knowledge of the industry. Regardless, all projects were carried out with great speed and enthusiasm. During the project they were all supported with industrial knowledge from the Technology Maturation group.
“The greatest measurement of success is that all researchers of the Radical Innovation Sprint projects uncovered technologies known or unknown to them and the linkage to the oil and gas industry. One should never assume that the current research portfolio is holding all the pieces of the puzzle. Radical Innovation Sprint is one way of creating a meaningful disruption,” ends Lars Simonsen.
Radical Innovation Sprint 2018
Again this year, DHRTC has launched a Radical innovation Sprint during which the centre encourage all to go even further beyond the imaginable and search for new ways to improve the oil and gas recovery.
Learn more about the actual sprint.
Picture: Brian Nonbo