Andrew Smart

Andrew Smart EMEA Energy Practice Lead, Senior Managing Director and ADNOC Client Account Lead Andrew is a Senior Managing Director in the Middle East Energy leadership team and in his 30-year career with Accenture his professional skills and strategic expertise have been developed while working intimately with many of the world’s leading energy companies (e.g. Shell, bp, BG Group) across Accenture’s entire range of services Having spent 7 years as Accenture’s Global Energy Managing Director, Andrew is now responsible for the EMEA Energy practice across Europe Middle East and Africa Andrew has worked right along the energy value chain; in the front, middle and back office, with global experience of setting up new businesses and joint ventures; integration and optimization of complex hydrocarbon value chains; shared service development and continuous improvement; alongside the introduction of a wide range of digital technologies to drive performance improvement.

Session Overview

Monday, 4 November

All Sessions

15:35

Strategic Conference Conference Room B 15:35 - 15:55

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The future of AI: Where are we heading?

The power of AI to accelerate research and development in fields such as climate science, physics and quantum computing—as well as the way the work is conducted—is immense. In addition, AI can also support and accelerate societal agendas, driving substantial economic growth and productivity gains, reducing social inequalities while increasing opportunities, and more. AI is also transforming the energy sector, driving change across operational optimisation, renewable energy integration, energy efficiency sustainability, and more.

Attendee insights:

In this Energy Talk, Anima Anandkumar, Bren Professor of Computing and Mathematical Sciences from Caltech, until recently, AI research head at NVIDIA, will discuss the future of AI—in particular, its potential for accelerating the energy transition—key challenges for the emerging AI industry, and energy sector as well as how AI innovations are driving the energy transition towards a decarbonised future at speed and scale.

Tuesday, 5 November

All Sessions

14:00

Strategic Conference ICC Hall 14:00 - 15:00

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The power of AI for the energy transition

AI is contributing to the transformation of the energy sector through its utilisation of large data sets. According to BNEF’s net-zero scenario modeling “every 1% of additional efficiency in demand creates $1.3 trillion in value between 2020 and 2050 due to reduced investment needs”, with AI set to help achieve this by enabling greater energy efficiency and flexible demand. Machine learning, deep learning and generative AI are improving operations effectiveness, providing insights for lowering emissions, anticipating mechanical and supply chain malfunctions and driving substantial energy efficiency gains. However, scaling AI from successful pilots to broad implementation brings its own challenges. AI uptake and the use of associated high energy demand data centres - which are growing globally in number by the day (200TWh power is needed to meet global data centers demand according to Goldman Sachs) - are on track to outpace the power available to run them. What will be needed, both in the AI application and securing access to new energy supplies, to deliver on the promise of AI and its contribution to the energy transition?

Attendee insights:

Understand how AI is transforming business operations, its opportunities and challenges related to data centers and energy consumption needs.