This is a machine translation of Petrobras‘ press release
Petrobras disclosed the companies selected for challenges in the areas of digital technologies and inspection of the Solution Acquisition Module, of the Petrobras Connections for Innovation Program. The four companies, three Brazilian and one Canadian, can receive up to R$ 1.6 million for developing and testing the solutions in productive environments.
The next step for the selected companies is to sign a Public Contract for an Innovative Solution (CPSI), lasting up to 12 months, extendable for another 12 months, to execute the work plans and validate the technological solutions. After this period, the solution with the best performance and cost-effectiveness for Petrobras can be contracted to supply for a period of up to two years, extendable for another two years. The two-phase process streamlines the implementation of solutions in the company and contributes to the consolidation of new suppliers in the market.
The Petrobras Conexões para Inovação program aims to accelerate innovation in the company and brings together the different ways of developing, testing or commercializing technologies with Petrobras. The program has a portal ( www.tecnologia.petrobras.com.br ) where opportunities for the innovation ecosystem (universities, Science and Technology Institutes, entrepreneurs and technology companies, etc.) partnerships to solve Petrobras’ technological challenges. In 2022 alone, more than 100 challenges were launched through the Conexões para Inovação portal, with more than 60 new partnerships signed this year alone, surpassing the value of BRL 140 million in contracted investment.
“The program is structured in several modules and each one of them brings together opportunities with specific characteristics, according to the target audience, level of technological maturity and the business model intended by the company. It is a way of strengthening the relationship with the innovative ecosystem and speeding up the development and implementation of technologies in the company. In addition, not only the partners are benefited, but the industry as well”, says the Director of Digital Transformation and Innovation at Petrobras, Paulo Palaia.
Specifically in the Solutions Acquisition module, throughout this year, 12 challenges were launched with a total budget of R$ 29 million, 51 proposals were received and 28 were pre-selected. The companies chosen in the pre-selection undergo up to six weeks of mentoring with a committee Petrobras technician to refine the work plan, business model and risk matrix. In December, two challenges reached the last stage of selection and disclosure of results, with pitch days held for a panel of managers and company specialists. In this evaluation, criteria such as the business model, implementation of the solution at the end of the project, consistency and competitiveness of the proposal, impact and generation of value of the solution, scalability and scope of the solution were considered. By the first quarter of 2023, at least 20 companies will pitch their proposals for the disclosed challenges.
The Solution Acquisition module is open to companies from all over the country and abroad and periodically publishes opportunities on the https://tecnologia.petrobras.com.br/modulo-aquisicao-de-solucoes portal.
Ecosystem
Petrobras is the company in the oil and gas sector that most interacts with the open innovation ecosystem in Brazil. The company currently has a contracted portfolio of more than BRL 3 billion, with more than 150 technological partners, in the various contracting modalities and technological cooperation agreements. The investment foreseen in the company’s strategic plan for the area of digital technology and Innovation for the period 2023-27 is US$ 2.5 billion.