Artificial intelligence (AI) and data-driven technologies have huge potential to transform the energy sector and optimise how energy is produced, managed and used in view of the need to make headway in the transition to renewable energies, energy sovereignty and digitalisation of the entire activity chain.

This is the conclusion of the eighth white paper sponsored by the Centre of Innovation for Data Tech and Artificial Intelligence (CIDAI) as part of the Artificial Intelligence Strategy of Catalonia, Catalonia.AI, which looks at artificial intelligence applied to the energy industry and specifically in electricity. The publication points out this technology’s potential to orchestrate the new paradigm shaped by the decentralisation of energy, the empowerment of consumers and the emergence of active consumers and prosumers, the electrification needed to enable the energy transition and the smart grid.

The findings set out in the White Paper on AI applied to the energy sector are designed to help drive AI forward, promote its uptake and embed it in energy processes in generation, transport and distribution, marketing, use and storage.

“With the Catalonia.AI strategy, the Government is looking to cement Catalonia as an international flagship in research, innovation and generating and attracting AI-related talent, businesses and investors,” says Lluís Juncà, Director General for Innovation and the Digital Economy in the Government of Catalonia. “Plus in lockstep we are also addressing the impact of data-driven technologies and AI in key sectors for the country’s economic development such as energy, where as this white paper shows they can play a key role in transforming and optimising the way we produce, manage and use it.”

“The white paper has been made possible by the valuable input and advice of several energy ecosystem experts which has allowed us to analyse its situation in Catalonia against a background in which the energy sector plays a key role in the country’s economic development,” adds Joan Mas, director of CIDAI and scientific director of Eurecat’s Digital Area. “The paper points out that, for example, AI can help achieve more efficient energy usage in industry and households and also better and more securely manage the complex electricity distribution grid.”

The energy sector’s short- and medium-term challenges identified in the white paper include the energy transition to address the climate emergency, also factoring in the inclusion of renewable energies, energy efficiency and energy de-growth; upgrading and digitalising the energy value chain; and achieving a balance between electricity generation and demand to ensure the system’s security, reliability and resilience.

Artificial intelligence and data-driven technologies are emerging as enabling tools for the energy transition, ramping up sustainability, optimising operational efficiency and cutting costs for energy industry enterprises and organisations.

To achieve this, the white paper makes some recommendations such as fostering the availability and sharing of data among ecosystem players to get high-quality artificial intelligence models and solutions while also assuring the quality and reliability of the data required to build these models.

It additionally stresses the need to raise awareness of AI’s potential for organisations in the sector to reduce resistance to change and increase its uptake in their operational and business processes.

The white paper showcases over twenty projects by Catalan stakeholders furnishing an outstanding example of the application of artificial intelligence technologies in generation, transport and distribution, usage and orchestrating smart energy management.

CIDAI is coordinated by the Eurecat technology centre and includes as partners the Government of Catalonia, Barcelona City Council, the Barcelona Supercomputing Center, the Computer Vision Center, the i2CAT Foundation, the Intelligent Data Science and Artificial Intelligence Research Center (IDEAI-UPC) and Huawei, NTT DATA, Microsoft, SAP and the SDG Group.

Download the White Paper on AI applied to the energy sector