An international research collaboration between academia and industry led by Texas A&M University at Qatar has received a $3.2mn grant from the Qatar National Research Foundation (QNRF) for a cluster project for smart grid cybersecurity infrastructure in Qatar, with the ultimate goal of providing more safer, more reliable energy supply for the country. 
Led by Dr Haitham Abu-Rub, professor in Texas A&M at Qatar’s Electrical and Engineering Programme and managing director of the TEES Smart Grid Centre extension in Qatar, the interdisciplinary team includes researchers from Qatar University, Hamad Bin Khalifa University, the Qatar Environment and Energy Research Institute and the Qatar General Electricity & Water Corporation (Kahramaa). 
International collaborators include faculty from Texas A&M’s main campus in College Station, Texas (US) and Kansas State University (US). Additional support will come from Kahramaa, the Ministry of Transport and Communications, Qatar Mobility Innovations Centre and some companies in industry in the US (AllCell and Typhoon HIL).
The project, NPRP12C-0814-190012 ‘Multi-layer Cybersecurity and Situational Awareness to Enhance Resiliency in Qatar’s Power Grid’, was awarded as part of QNRF’s National Priorities Research Programme-Cluster track for a duration of four years. The Cluster track aims to develop solutions to real-world challenges in Qatar that produce tangible societal and economic impact. Through this Cluster programme, QNRF supports multi-institutional and interdisciplinary research to solve significant and complex problems that need an unconventional approach. 
Dr Abu-Rub said the outcomes of this cluster project will help create a cyber-physical security infrastructure for Qatar’s smart grid while addressing the challenges associated with cyber-physical security and situational awareness of Qatar’s power grid. In short, and in addition to the huge educational benefits, the research will help protect Qatar’s smart grid and critical infrastructures from cyberattacks, damage and energy disruption, thereby ensuring the energy security of Qatar’s critical infrastructure.
The collaborators said residential, commercial, institutional and industrial sectors throughout Qatar will benefit from this research. All these sectors need an electric energy supply with improved reliability and enhanced resiliency from Qatar’s power grid. Various stakeholders will gain huge benefits from the acquired knowledge, skill and transfer technologies that will be created during the project. This project can result in a significant impact on Qatar’s national electric grid security and economic savings.
Essa bin Hilal al-Kuwari, Kahramaa president, said: “As Qatar’s electric grid keeps expanding and transforming to smart grid, the probability of cyber-attack increases day by day. Creating a cyber-physical security smart grid infrastructure is a top priority for Qatar and surely worldwide. Kahramaa has always had active collaboration with Texas A&M at Qatar and other local universities and research centres. Being a strategic partner in the Smart Grid Centre at Texas A&M at Qatar provides a significant opportunity in supporting and partnering in such collaborative research.” 
Dr Abdul Sattar al-Taie, QNRF executive director, said: “I extend my sincere congratulations to the awarded team. The proposed research has exceptional merit and the potential to significantly advance the current body of knowledge in cybersecurity and energy. In turn, the findings will position Qatar as an international leader in terms of innovation in these critical areas. I also foresee the research outcomes leading to meaningful IP opportunities and contributing to economic development and diversification in Qatar.”
Dr Saif al-Kuwari, principal investigator from Hamad Bin Khalifa University, noted: “This project will create unique opportunities on different level. Academically, it will facilitate interdisciplinary research collaboration. Practically, it will innovate solutions for real-world problems and connect academia with industry. Nationally, it is addressing genuine local challenges related to smart grid cybersecurity infrastructure.”
Texas A&M at Qatar dean Dr Cesar Octavio Malave added that such an interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary research collaboration is at the heart of the branch campus’s vision to be an essential resource to Qatar.
“Part of our mission is to generate new knowledge and intellectual capital through innovative research and collaborative partnerships that yield sustainable impact,” Dr Malave said.