Utilities are embracing emerging technologies as they work towards meeting their sustainability goals and improving their operations. Here are the technologies we think you will be hearing a lot more about in 2025, with insight into applications for electric, natural gas, water, and wastewater operations.
Generative AI
Generative AI is taking the world by storm and utilities are already exploring how the technology can enhance decision-making and efficiency. Generative AI uses deep learning models to create new content autonomously based on large datasets. A study from Capgemini Research Institute released in October 2023 found 39% of the utilities and power sector already have a dedicated team and budget to integrate generative AI into future product/service development.
There is a broad range of use cases for Generative AI, including energy management, grid optimization, asset management, field maintenance, and customer service. With generative AI, energy consumption patterns can be optimized in real-time based on usage forecasts, demand, or weather conditions. A number of different scenarios can be easily tested. Managers can ask in natural language what infrastructure assets should be prioritized for repair. Similarly, technicians can ask questions when repairing a piece of equipment and get immediate answers. Chatbots and virtual assistants that understand natural language can respond to customer inquiries and generate human-like replies to improve customer service. In the Capgemini Research Study, a third of executives in the energy and utilities sector say their organizations are piloting generative AI to produce synthetic data, artificial data that mimics real-world data and is created using algorithms and simulations. Generative AI can learn the complex relationships in the original datasets and then produce data that more reliably reflects those patterns.
Blockchain Technology
Blockchain technology is a shared ledger that provides an immediate, shared, and transparent exchange of encrypted data simultaneously to multiple parties within a business network. The data is chronologically consistent because you cannot delete or modify the chain without consensus from the network. As a result, you can use blockchain technology to create an unalterable ledger for tracking orders, payments, accounts, and other transactions.
According to a report from Persistence Market Research, the global blockchain in the energy market is forecast to increase from a value of $6.43 billion USD in 2023 to $31.73 billion USD by the end of 2030. Driving that growth is blockchain’s ability to manage smart grid operations and decentralized energy resources with real-time monitoring of energy production, distribution, and consumption, as well as facilitating peer-to-peer energy trading.
Blockchain is also the foundation of several peer-to-peer energy trading platforms, in which consumers buy and sell excess energy. For example, in the U.S., Powerledger has partnered with the Midwest Renewable Energy Tracking System (M-RETS) to launch a Renewable Energy Certificate (REC) marketplace. RECs are tradable commodities that represent proof that one megawatt-hour of electricity was generated from a renewable energy source. Shell has also launched several blockchain-powered projects including a blockchain-powered digital book and claim solution for sustainable aviation fuel.
Advanced Small Nuclear Reactors
AI requires massive amounts of energy and just recently tech companies such as Amazon and Google’s parent company Alphabet announced investments in advanced small modular nuclear reactors (SMRs) to provide the power needed to train and run artificial intelligence (AI) models. Kairos Power announced in October 2024 that it would develop, construct, and operate a series of advanced reactor plants and sell energy, ancillary services, and environmental attributes to Google. The project is expected to produce 500 MW by 2035. Plants will supply clean electricity to Google data centers, with the first deployment by 2030. to support Google’s 24/7 carbon-free energy and net zero goals. Similarly, Amazon announced a partnership with Energy Northwest, to enable the development of four advanced small modular reactors. The units will generate 320 megawatts of capacity for the first phase of the project.
Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) have a smaller physical footprint than traditional nuclear plants so they can be sited more easily. According to the International Atomic Energy Agency, prefabricated units of SMRs can be manufactured and then shipped and installed on-site, making them more affordable to build than large power reactors. Kairos Power’s advanced reactor uses molten fluoride salt as a coolant, rather than water.
Microbial Fuel Cells
Microbial Fuel Cells (MFCs) are being integrated into wastewater treatment plants to harness the energy from organic matter in wastewater while treating it. The microorganisms in the anode electrode oxidize the organic matter, breaking down pollutants and generating electrons that flow through an electrical circuit to the cathode compartment. The process also generates clean water as a byproduct, which can be reused or released back into the environment.
According to Grandview Research, the global microbial fuel cells market size was estimated at $258.50 million USD in 2023 and is projected to grow at a CAGR of 6.35% from 2024 to 2030. Growing concerns about climate change, environmental regulations, and sustainability goals are driving the demand for alternative sustainable fuel sources.
In the U.S. researchers at Harvard University as well as Purdue University are working on microbial fuel cell technology to treat wastewater.
Quantum Computing
Quantum computing harnesses the laws of quantum mechanics, namely, the phenomenon where it is possible to be in more than one state at a time, to solve problems far too complex for most computers. It differs from traditional computing due to the particle superpositions that occur at the quantum scale, allowing a qubit to be in a state of both 0 and 1 until it interacts with the environment. This enables Quantum computers to outperform classical computers exponentially in certain computing tasks.
Boston Consulting Group projects that quantum computing will create $450 billion to $850 billion USD of economic value globally, sustaining a $90 billion to $170 billion USD market for hardware and software providers by 2040. EPB, which provides fiber optic service to the city of Chattanooga in Tennessee, has been on the ground floor of the technology. In 2022, they partnered with Qubitekk to launch the first commercially available quantum network in the U.S. The Department of Energy enlisted EPB to undertake cybersecurity research based on quantum technology. The result of their work was quantum key distribution (QKD), a secure communication method for exchanging encryption keys only known between shared parties. It uses properties found in quantum physics to exchange cryptographic keys in such a way that is provable and ensures security.
Amin Khodaei, professor of electrical and computer engineering at the University of Denver, wrote an article in EE Online explaining how quantum computing could be game-changing for utilities. His power flow studies found quantum computers showed a speedup of 30x compared to classical computers. “If planning for grid repair and recovery after a natural disaster takes one hour using classical methods, the quantum computer would solve this problem in less than two minutes,” wrote Khodaei.
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