AI sparks the low-carbon leap in global energy
The global energy sector faces the dual mandate of radically enhancing productivity while simultaneously decarbonising its operations – and AI and low-carbon solutions (LCS) are the breakthrough ideas guiding the path forward. That was the key takeaway from a strategic conference panel session on Day 2 of ADIPEC.
As Dr. Dong Sub Kim, President and CEO of Korea National Oil Corporation (KNOC), put it: “AI is becoming one of the biggest tools that we are using, and we are not using it enough yet. We still are on the learning curve, and the outcome should come out later. If I make two kinds of innovative ideas, breakthrough ideas for future potential, it is AI, and the low carbon solutions that we are focusing on.” His candour set the tone for a discussion laser-focused on not just what’s possible, but also what’s holding back the opportunities for the sector to scale up.
From natural gas producers to steelmakers, all panelists pointed to the need for more than just technology. Montri Rawanchaikul, CEO of PTTEP, emphasised, “When we produce, going back to the energy trilemma equation, you need something sustainable. You need something affordable, and security. Affordable means cost, cost means time, speed, accuracy. So when we look at AI, we use it to improve productivity, efficiency, and we need the energy to run AI, and AI can help provide more energy.” The sector is at a pivot point, where even a decade-old innovation may suddenly tip into relevance if scale is achieved through the right operational and financial levers.
One of the session’s major takeaways was the sheer speed with which AI and machine learning are changing the energy landscape. Olivier Le Peuch, CEO of SLB, reflected, “What has changed in the last couple of years? Three things. First, a sense of urgency to step-change productivity, to step-change efficiency in our industry. The emergence of AI as a tool that we use every day in our life, the realisation that this tool could be the next level, and lastly, the infrastructure, the platform, the access to digital scale is starting to emerge in every company. Not necessarily public cloud, but realisation that having an in-country data centre can be scaled, and hence access to compute power at large scale.”
This new era of rapid digital scaling isn’t limited to software; physical processes, manufacturing, and even human-machine interaction are being rewritten. Borrego, discussing steelmaking and decarb technologies, shared, “Most of the companies still have a lot to do in terms of digitalisation. If you take, for example, material services; with this tool, you can optimise your delivery times, and get a lot of accuracy. This is a brilliant service for our customers to get things more accurate, more precise, and save time, and therefore cost. In steel, it’s about optimising the complete supply chain from the iron ore, or cooking coal on a ship down the Rhine River, and then into the factory, and within the factory to steer logistics.”
Collaboration across the value chain, and sector-wide digital platforms, emerged as essential. Jack Hidary, CEO of SandboxAQ, identified three massive “waves” about to hit the sector: AI for the digital world, for the physical world, and quantum. "These are the three waves: First Wave, digital, starting to be absorbed by the oil and gas industry; Second Wave, just hitting now for the physical to turn products into new kinds of products with catalysts. Quantum will hit us in the 2029, 2030 timeframe.” The urgency for developing infrastructure to support not only current, but future advances echoed through every example.
On human considerations, Olivier Oullier, co-founder and CEO of Inclusive Brains, emphasised the critical role of adapting innovation to the workforce: “We train [AI systems] with brain waves, facial expressions, movements, voice intonation, heartbeat, neurophysiology. Why? Because we want machines to be able to sense how we function, to adapt to us in real time, to be able to monitor our levels of stress, attention, cognitive load, fatigue. Responsible AI is using the most advanced and rigorous science to turn it into tech that has a positive impact.”
Despite exciting advances, scaling these innovations requires deliberate strategy. Ensuring adequate computing power, building real-time data layers, and leveraging collaboration between public and private initiatives all surfaced as critical. “You have to make sure that every step is in the right direction. All the supply chain has to be strongly backed up in order to get what we need,” Kim noted.
Concrete action items followed the talk: building firm roadmaps for emerging AI in material sciences, scaling up applications in carbon capture, and ensuring digital transformation includes both technology, and workforce adoption. As the session concluded, the consensus was clear: future-proofing the energy industry isn’t about dreaming up the next big thing, but building the bridges through bold investment, rigorous collaboration, and thoughtful policy that get pilots to scale, and transform entire systems.
