The Big Picture. New England’s defense industrial base generates tens of billions in annual economic activity, and the commercial grid underlies it all.
Why It Matters. As the grid faces growing pressure from extreme weather, surging demand, and adversarial cyber threats, the defense ecosystem can only be as resilient as the infrastructure it relies on.
About the Event. NDIA New England and Converge Strategies co-hosted Powering Defense: Energy Resilience for the Defense Industry, a discussion and reception that brought together defense, energy, and government leaders across New England to address grid vulnerabilities facing the defense industrial base, explore emerging solutions, and identify the partnerships needed to advance regional resilience.
What We Heard. The conversation surfaced three priorities for New England’s defense industries:
1| Evaluate energy system risks and opportunities,
2| Engage with the energy system in new ways as both suppliers and adopters of innovative technology, and
3| Forge new partnerships across state agencies, defense programs, and the electricity industry to build resilience from multiple directions.
The Path Forward. Contact Wilson Rickerson | wrickerson@convergestrategies.com | to learn more about upcoming convenings, research on DIB clusters and federal funding opportunities, and partnership opportunities across the defense energy resilience space.