Media releases

Alongside partners Applied Computing and KBR, the Energy Institute (EI) has launched a new industry programme to help the energy sector use artificial intelligence (AI) safely, effectively and at scale.

The EI’s new Applied AI for Energy Committee will bring together energy companies, technology providers and AI specialists to tackle common, non-competitive technical challenges that cannot easily be solved by individual organisations working alone.

The programme will be led through the Applied AI for Energy Committee, with Dan Jeavons, President of Applied Computing, appointed Chair, and Andy Webster, Senior Director of Digital and AI Transformation for Sustainable Technology Solutions at KBR, appointed Vice Chair.

The Committee held its inaugural meeting at the Energy Institute’s London headquarters on 15 October, with members drawn from across the energy and technology sectors. It was agreed that the initial focus will be on developing an AI governance framework for the energy sector, alongside an AI evaluation, assurance and benchmarking framework.

Dan Jeavons, Chair of the Applied AI for Energy Committee and President of Applied Computing, said:

“AI is already finding its way into control rooms across energy, but the sector is still working out, company by company, how to test it and trust it. 

“The Applied AI for Energy Committee gives the industry a neutral place to build that evidence together, so the people running safety-critical assets can adopt AI with confidence. I am proud to chair the Committee and look forward to working with members from across the sector.”

Andy Webster, Vice Chair of the Applied AI for Energy Committee and Senior Director at KBR, said:

“Organisations across energy are working through the same questions on AI independently, and the Applied AI for Energy Committee gives the sector a neutral place to build shared evidence, assurance approaches and professional competence. 

“KBR is proud to be a founding organisation, and I look forward to co-chairing the Committee alongside Dan.”

Martin Maeso CEnv MEI, Director of Technical & Innovation at the Energy Institute, said:

“AI has huge potential across the energy sector, from improving engineering and maintenance to making operations safer, more efficient and resilient. But there are also common technical challenges around assurance, accountability, skills, data and scaling that companies cannot solve effectively in isolation.

“That is where the Energy Institute - alongside our partners Applied Computing and KBR - can play an important role. The Applied AI for Energy Committee will bring operators, engineers and technology specialists together to pool expertise and develop practical industry guidance people can trust. With Dan as Chair, Andy as Vice Chair and a strong group of energy and technology companies around the table, we now have an excellent platform to turn shared challenges into practical solutions.”

The programme will focus on the practical challenges holding back wider adoption of AI and will build directly on the findings of an EI-convened industry forum on sovereign AI for UK energy security in July. The forum identified evaluation and procurement, competence and accountability, data rights and operational assurance as priorities for further work.

Its findings have been published in the Energy Institute’s new Workshop report sovereign AI for UK energy security – Forum report and recommendations. The report finds that AI is already creating value in areas, but scaling applications into operational environments remains difficult.

The Committee will develop and oversee a programme of industry projects, with the aim of producing practical resources including good practice guidance and training. The Committee’s work is intended to focus specifically on non-competitive challenges, allowing companies to share expertise on areas such as health and safety, operational practices and wider industry improvement.