THE FUTURE OF ENERGY
“ENERGY WILL BE CLEANER, MORE ACCESSIBLE, INTELLIGENT, CONNECTED AND RESPONSIVE; DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION WILL CONVERGE WITH BUSINESS TRANSFORMATION”
The future of energy is all about integration—the integration of an increasingly complex and diverse range of generating assets, and the integration and deployment of advanced IT and digital solutions to drive more efficient use of resources. This is the crux of the convergence of IT with operating technology (OT) and defines the future trends driving the emergence of digital energy in the IoT era.
Convergence is everywhere—not just across technologies and business models, but also between industries, such as energy and transportation. Rapid growth in electric mobility will put pressure on our energy infrastructure, while at the same time creating opportunities for electric vehicles to be connected to aggregate their energy storage capabilities in vehicle-to-grid (V2G) solutions.
And this is all combined with utility companies facing falling profits and pressure to manage aging—and typically centralised—assets and systems. These utilities also need to find new technologies and profitable business models to increase operating efficiency, while creating new revenue streams to survive and thrive in the new energy future.
DECARBONISATION
Shifting generation, transmission, distribution and usage towards a lower carbon future.
Renewable energy, e-Mobility, energy efficiency, new and future fuels, demand side management, etc.
44% of global generating capacity from renewables by 2025
1,600 GW of renewables capacity added between 2017 & 2025
DECENTRALISATION
New DG models with a proliferation of distributed and connected generation, closer to the point of use.
Distributed generation, energy storage, microgrids, prosumers, VPPs,
P2P, etc.
12% of global generating capacity from DG by 2025
65% of DG investments will be distributed Solar PV
DIGITALISATION
Digital technologies to provide infrastructure for more flexible, intelligent, connected & responsive energy systems.
Distributed generation, energy storage, microgrids, prosumers, VPPs, P2P, etc.
50 Billion
connected devices – or ‘things’ - globally by 2025
>$1 Trillion economic value of IoT impact in energy by 2025
The top three trends in the energy industry today (the 3 Ds: Decarbonisation, Decentralisation and Digitalisation) are driving a full-scale disruption and transformation of the sector, meaning there are both challenges and opportunities ahead for companies playing in this space:
Of course, these trends don’t operate in isolation. Again, it’s all about convergence and in the new energy future, digital technologies will be the key enabler of the decentralised models, as well as drive the integration of renewable energy into our grids to achieve decarbonisation.
Virtual Power Plants Connectivity enabling aggregation and trading
Smart Grid Intelligent and self-healing T&D infrastructure
Performance Contracting Guaranteed efficiency outcomes
Cloud Services Digital transformation and data analytics
Anything as a Service Growth in XaaS Models
Distributed Energy On-site power and ‘Prosumer’ models
Microgrids Facilitating growth in distributed generation
However, in a world where global energy demand will grow by over 2% per year up to 2025 and a colossal total of 55% from 2015 levels by 2040, further innovation is required. Over 1.2 billion people still lack access to electricity. As the demand for energy continues to grow, smarter and more society-oriented innovation is required to overcome these increasing challenges of electrification, energy efficiency and decarbonisation to facilitate continued economic growth and improve quality of life.
This means energy innovation in the IoT era not only has an opportunity to transform the efficiency of our utilities, cities, businesses and consumers, but also contribute to the long-term sustainability of our planet and its inhabitants.
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