The role of technology in the future of energy

AI in the energy sector

As KPMG’s latest CEO Outlook survey discovered, AI – generative AI in particular – is business leaders’ number one investment priority right now.

So a discussion about the technological future of the industry wouldn’t be complete without examining the impact of AI. Especially given the opportunities and challenges it presents for the energy transition.

“AI will become business as usual very quickly.” Teodora declared. “It has so many potential applications.”

Lara pointed out that it’s already business as usual at Kraken: “It’s essentially part of the platform,” she said.

It’s being used to automate time-consuming tasks like call summaries and customer communications, which bots can do faster and more accurately than human beings. “Around 45% of our digital communication is now being written by AI – without replacing jobs,” Lara explained.

“So instead, our staff can focus on more complex jobs, like serving vulnerable customers, which humans are better at.”

For Yvonne, one of AI’s most important uses in the energy sector will be improving safety in the field. It will allow engineers to access manuals, technical information and advice onsite, quickly and easily. “That will not only make them more productive – it will keep them safe, which is vital in our industry.”

AI will also help to scale renewables, she underlined, which will be critical to the green transition. With industrial metaverse technology, for example, you can simulate a wind farm before development – modelling different wind speeds, market pricing, and more. “You can envisage the optimal wind farm before building anything,” said Yvonne.

At the same time, AI can unleash the power of the multigenerational workforce – particularly for grid companies. It can remove mundane tasks, and offer the slick tools and processes younger employees expect.