Key Takeaways from ADIPEC 2024

Navigating the energy transition: AI, decarbonisation and strategic cross-sector collaboration

ADIPEC 2024 saw over 1,600 leaders from across the energy sector gather to discuss the evolving landscape of the energy transition. The Net Zero Technology Centre (NZTC) team immersed itself in discussions on decarbonisation strategies and emerging technologies, all geared towards uniting industries to address the shared challenge of advancing the transition to net zero.

After engaging with industry leaders, energy professionals, technology developers, academics, and government representatives, here are our initial observations.

The AI paradox: energy vs. impact

The clear message from ADIPEC 2024 was that AI will play a critical role in the energy transition, enabling net zero goals by enhancing efficiencies, decarbonising existing infrastructure, and supporting the expansion of carbon-free energy sources. This aligns with ADNOC’s recent publication, Powering Possible: AI & Energy for a Sustainable Future, which urges the sector to scale AI investment to drive decarbonisation while meeting rising global electricity demands.

Industry-wide, strategic investments in AI are now being made across the entire energy value chain, recognising the technology’s transformative potential. However, while AI plays a pivotal role in accelerating the transition, its growing energy consumption presents a paradox. For example, a single ChatGPT search uses 10 times the energy of a Google search. Growing demand for AI introduces a new challenge: how to ensure that the energy required to power AI does not offset the decarbonisation benefits it provides.

Balancing investment in current and future energy systems

ADIPEC 2024 also reinforced the need for parallel investments in both current energy systems and transition technologies. This echoes UAE Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology Dr. Sultan’s message from last year, “Maximum Energy, Minimum Emissions.” This approach emphasises the importance of maintaining reliable energy supplies today while building sustainable solutions for the future. The focus is on a pragmatic balance between energy security and sustainability, ensuring that immediate energy needs are met as we advance towards low-carbon operations.

We’ve seen a growing trend in this integrated approach. For example, Saudi Aramco’s blue hydrogen and advanced CCUS initiative leverages its vast natural gas resources alongside carbon capture to reduce emissions. Similarly, Shell’s Port of Rotterdam project combines hydrogen production with large-scale solar energy to supply low-carbon power while decarbonising its own operations.

NZTC is committed to supporting this approach through advisory solutions we provide to businesses globally, including in the UAE. Our unique insights and foresight help clients decarbonise existing oil and gas production to ensure the responsible supply of today’s energy, while also supporting their diversification strategies by exploring low-carbon hydrogen, CCUS, and other emerging technologies.

By managing today’s energy needs alongside future sustainability goals, industry can adopt sustainable practices without risking energy shortages or price spikes, making the energy transition more feasible, resilient, and equitable over the long term.

A new era of cross-sector collaboration

In addition, a new era for collaboration was explored, with a clear push to break down traditional silos between upstream and downstream operations. This was exemplified by increasing major partnerships between prominent technology firms and major energy companies, signalling a shift towards integrated, cross-sector solutions. For instance, Equinor and Microsoft, a synergy formed a few years back, focuses on applying Microsoft’s Azure cloud platform and AI tools to optimise Equinor’s energy operations, reducing emissions and improving energy efficiency across its assets.

This was further highlighted through ADNOC’s latest innovation challenge, which this year focused on advancing and diversifying sustainable sulfur utilisation. The challenge provided a platform for global innovators across the energy, materials, chemicals, and agriculture sectors to submit their solutions, with the opportunity to form valuable partnerships with ADNOC to accelerate their development.

Supported by NZTC for the second year, the challenge aimed to identify developers unlocking high-potential technologies in this niche area. The finale, held during ADIPEC, featured pitches from five promising companies, each demonstrating the critical role of cross-sector collaboration in identifying, piloting, and scaling emerging solutions. These joint efforts could lead to the faster deployment of breakthrough technologies, accelerating the energy transition.