Theme innovation landscape

Leading power companies in the artificial intelligence theme

Credit: Bert van Dijk/Getty images.

Powered by

The future of the power industry will be shaped by a range of disruptive themes, with artificial intelligence (AI) being one of the themes that will have a significant impact on power companies.

AI is an umbrella term for various software-based systems that use data inputs to make decisions on their own. There are strong AI use cases in the power industry. Many activities, from asset optimisation to customer segmentation, can be enhanced by AI. The past ten years have seen an explosion in the amount of data generated by power companies, mostly due to the rise of the Internet of Things (IoT). AI provides an opportunity to significantly increase performance using data collected from IoT devices.

GlobalData anticipates that the global market for AI platforms in the power industry will grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 24% over the forecast period. Large utilities will continue to develop their in-house capabilities, hiring machine learning and data science specialists, and more AI-specific start-ups will persist in growing the list of AI-focused partnerships in the power sector. Electricity trading, smart grids, and asset management represent primary growth areas for AI in the power sector. Machine learning, a key element of the AI value chain, will drive most of this growth.

However, not all companies are equal when it comes to their capabilities and investments in the key themes that matter most to their industry. Understanding how companies are positioned and ranked in the most important themes can be a key leading indicator of their future earnings potential and relative competitive position.

According to GlobalData’s thematic research report, Predictive Maintenance in Power, leading adopters include: Iberdrola, Enel, Électricité de France (EDF), Duke Energy, E.ON, Exelon, Schneider Electric, Dubai Energy & Water Authority (DEWA), National Grid and Southern Company.

Insights from top ranked companies

Enel

Enel has deployed a predictive maintenance application at over 16,000 substations serving one million customers in Italy. It used sensors to compile data from several sources, including SCADA, maintenance work orders, historical equipment failures, and data on weather and terrain near the assets. Enel also built a machine learning algorithm to identify electricity theft and prioritise targets for field visits.

Both of these machine learning projects were supported by C3.ai’s technology, which collects data from several sources, and provides much of the platform needed to develop the algorithms. In August 2017, Enel acquired EnerNOC for over $300m and renamed it Enel X. Enel X is now one of the world’s largest demand response aggregators, using a combination of energy efficiency and demand shifting across many energy users to avoid the need to build additional peak generation. Enel X’s system makes extensive use of machine learning.

EDF

EDF has an established programme using AI to create digital twins of its nuclear power plants in France. The initial data is collected by taking laser scans and panoramic images inside the power stations (an automated process). The data is processed, and the system can go through billions of pixels and identify over 30,000 components. This system used deep learning models to quickly identify the labels and save the company money and time.

More than 100 experts from EDF, Framatome, and others are working on the project, which aims to structure the French nuclear industry’s innovation process through digital technology. EDF’s renewable energy subsidiary, EDF Renewables, has also been using machine learning models, in partnership with Bharat Power & Light, to analyse IoT data and develop predictive maintenance models for solar and wind installations.

Iberdrola

Iberdrola has made AI a core part of its digitalisation strategy, focusing on applying speech recognition in customer services, robotics, fraud detection, the analysis of complaints, and predictive maintenance. Iberdrola’s photovoltaic plants also use machine learning for the early identification of anomalies and automatic identification of faults. Iberdrola is a key partner in the ROMEO project, which uses machine learning to create effective predictive maintenance algorithms and ultimately reduce offshore wind energy costs.

To further understand the key themes and technologies disrupting the power industry, access GlobalData’s latest thematic research report on Predictive Maintenance in Power.

GlobalData, the leading provider of industry intelligence, provided the underlying data, research, and analysis;used to produce this article.

GlobalData’s Thematic Intelligence uses proprietary data, research, and analysis to provide a forward-looking perspective on the key themes that will shape the future of the world’s largest industries and the organisations within them.   

The Thematic Scorecard uses authoritative data and expert analyst judgement to rank companies based on their overall leadership in specific themes, generating a leading indicator of their future earnings and relative strategic position.

Go to article: Home | Artificial intelligence: beyond the hypeGo to article: ContentsGo to article: BriefingGo to article: ForewordGo to article: An introduction to artificial intelligenceGo to article: A history of artificial intelligenceGo to article: PharmaGo to article: The impact of artificial intelligence on the pharmaceutical sectorGo to article: Case studies: artificial intelligence in the pharmaceutical industryGo to article: Latest news: artificial intelligence in pharmaGo to article: Q&A with GlobalData thematic analystGo to article: Rx Machina: how AI is transforming pharma sales Go to article: Artificial intelligence innovation: leading companies in in-silico drug discovery Go to article: Leading clinical trials companies in the artificial intelligence theme Go to article: Deal activity related to artificial intelligence in the pharmaceutical industry since 2020Go to article: Artificial intelligence hiring trends in the global pharmaceutical industry since 2020Go to article: Artificial intelligence patent applications in the global pharmaceutical industry since 2020Go to article: Mentions of artificial intelligence in pharmaceutical industry company filings since 2020Go to article: MedicalGo to article: The impact of artificial intelligence on the medical device sectorGo to article: Case studies: artificial intelligence in the medical device industryGo to article: Latest news: artificial intelligence in medical devicesGo to article: Painting the future for cancer treatment using AIGo to article: Q&A with GlobalData thematic analystGo to article: Leading companies in the medical industryGo to article: Deal activity related to artificial intelligence in the medical device industry Go to article: Artificial intelligence hiring trends in the global medical device industryGo to article: Artificial intelligence patent in the global medical device industry since 2020Go to article: Mentions of artificial intelligence in medical device industry company filingsGo to article: GlobalData Thematic IntelligenceGo to article: MiningGo to article: The impact of artificial intelligence on the mining sectorGo to article: Case studies: artificial intelligence in the mining industryGo to article: AI news in the mining industryGo to article: Q&A with GlobalData thematic analystGo to article: How can ChatGPT aid the energy transition?Go to article: Artificial intelligence innovation: Leading companies in autonomous navigation for the mining industryGo to article: Leading mining companies in the artificial intelligence themeGo to article: Deal activity related to artificial intelligence in the mining industry since 2020Go to article: Artificial intelligence hiring trends in the global mining industry since 2020Go to article: Artificial intelligence patent applications in the global mining industry since 2020Go to article: Mentions of artificial intelligence in mining industry company filings since 2020Go to article: PowerGo to article: Applications of artificial intelligence in the power industryGo to article: Latest news: AI in the power industryGo to article: Q&A with GlobalData thematic analystGo to article: The role of AI in remote power managementGo to article: Leading companies in energy-efficient demand response systems for the power industryGo to article: Leading power companies in the artificial intelligence themeGo to article: Deal activity related to artificial intelligence in the power industry since 2020Go to article: Artificial intelligence hiring trends in the global power industry since 2020Go to article: Artificial intelligence patent applications in the global power industry since 2020Go to article: Mentions of artificial intelligence in power industry company filings since 2020Go to article: BeveragesGo to article: The impact of artificial intelligence on the consumer goods sectorGo to article: Case studies: artificial intelligence in the consumer goods industry Go to article: Latest news: AI in drinksGo to article: Q&A with GlobalData thematic analystGo to article: Heineken talks tech systemsGo to article: Leading non-alcoholic beverages companies in the artificial intelligence theme Go to article: Deal activity related to artificial intelligence in the beverages industry since 2020Go to article: Artificial intelligence hiring trends in the global beverages industry since 2020Go to article: Artificial intelligence patent applications in the global beverages industry since 2020Go to article: Mentions of artificial intelligence in beverages industry company filings since 2020Go to article: PackagingGo to article: Case studies: artificial intelligence in the packaging industry Go to article: Latest news: AI in the packaging industryGo to article: Q&A with GlobalData thematic analystGo to article: Generative AI – beyond the hype Go to article: Leading packaging companies in the artificial intelligence theme Go to article: Deal activity related to artificial intelligence in the packaging industry sinceGo to article: Artificial intelligence hiring trends in the packaging industry since 2020Go to article: Artificial intelligence patent applications in the packaging industry since 2020Go to article: Mentions of artificial intelligence in packaging industry filings since 2020Go to article: Sponsorship opportunitiesGo to article: BankingGo to article: The impact of artificial intelligence on the financial services sectorGo to article: Case studies: artificial intelligence in the financial services industryGo to article: Latest news: AI in bankingGo to article: Q&A with GlobalData thematic analystGo to article: The rise of AI deepfakes: taking back control and protecting paymentsGo to article: Artificial intelligence innovation: Leading companies in AI-assisted OCR for the banking industryGo to article: Leading retail banking companies in the artificial intelligence themeGo to article: Deal activity related to artificial intelligence in the retail banking industry since 2020Go to article: Artificial intelligence hiring trends in the global retail banking industry since 2020Go to article: Artificial intelligence patent applications in the global retail banking industry since 2020Go to article: Mentions of artificial intelligence in retail banking industry company filings since 2020Go to article: DefenceGo to article: The impact of artificial intelligence on the defence sector Go to article: Case studies: artificial intelligence in the defence industryGo to article: Latest news for AI in defenceGo to article: Q&A with GlobalData thematic analystGo to article: Navigating the new frontier: AI in maritime defence Go to article: Artificial intelligence innovation: top firms in ML for aerospace & Defence autonomous navigationGo to article: Leading defence companies in the artificial intelligence themeGo to article: Deal activity related to artificial intelligence in the aerospace & defence industry since 2020 Go to article: Artificial intelligence hiring trends in the global aerospace & defence industry since 2020 Go to article: Artificial intelligence patent applications in the global aerospace & defence industry since 2020 Go to article: Mentions of artificial intelligence in aerospace & defence industry company filings since 2020 Go to article: Next issue