NETL’s Energy Data Exchange (EDX) - a coordination, collaboration, and data resource discovery platform for energy science

Abstract:

Multi-organizational research teams working jointly on projects often encounter problems with discovery, access to relevant existing resources, and data sharing due to large file sizes, inappropriate file formats, or other inefficient options that make collaboration difficult. The Energy Data eXchange (EDX) from Department of Energy’s (DOE) National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) is an evolving online research environment designed to overcome these challenges in support of DOE’s fossil energy goals while offering improved access to data driven products of fossil energy R&D such as datasets, tools, and web applications. In 2011, development of NETL’s Energy Data eXchange (EDX) was initiated and offers i) a means for better preserving of NETL’s research and development products for future access and re-use, ii) efficient, discoverable access to authoritative, relevant, external resources, and iii) an improved approach and tools to support secure, private collaboration and coordination between multi-organizational teams to meet DOE mission and goals. EDX presently supports fossil energy and SubTER Crosscut research activities, with an ever-growing user base. EDX is built on a heavily customized instance of the open source platform, Comprehensive Knowledge Archive Network (CKAN). EDX connects users to externally relevant data and tools through connecting to external data repositories built on different platforms and other CKAN platforms (e.g. Data.gov). EDX does not download and repost data or tools that already have an online presence. This leads to redundancy and even error. If a relevant resource already has an online instance, is hosted by another online entity, EDX will point users to that external host either using web services, inventorying URLs and other methods. EDX offers users the ability to leverage private-secure capabilities custom built into the system. The team is presently working on version 3 of EDX which will incorporate big data analytical capabilities amongst other advanced features.