Never so much clean energy, but new technologies are needed to meet the climate agenda

In 2024, global energy production from renewable sources increased by 15%, marking the highest annual increase ever recorded in reports by the International Renewable Energy Agency (Irena). We are close to the rate of growth needed to meet climate targets: an increase of 17% per year would be enough to triple the availability of clean energy by 2030, a target considered essential to zero net emissions by 2050. Driving the growth were solar and wind power, which account for 77% and 19% of net additions, respectively.

The year 2024 also set a negative record: CO2 emissions from the energy sector hit a new high, up 1% from 2023. Despite this, the International Energy Agency (Iea) estimates that peak demand for fossil fuels will be reached before 2030. Then consumption will start to fall, thanks to the rapid spread of sustainable technologies. Promising signs in this direction have already been seen in recent years. In 2021, it was estimated that around 50 per cent of the emission cuts needed by 2050 would require technologies not yet on the market; after just two years, the share had already dropped to 35 per cent.

Another target for 2030 set by the International Energy Agency concerns improving energy efficiency. However, according to a recent report by the World Economic Forum, progress in this direction remains slow compared to what would be needed to achieve the climate goals: in 2024 global energy efficiency grew by just 1%, well below the target of +4% per year. Advanced economies in particular have slowed down: in one year, the European Union went from +5% to +0.5%. In contrast, many emerging economies maintained or increased their progress.

The climate scenarios also have to reckon with a new player: artificial intelligence, which is already transforming the energy sector. In 2024, driven by the increasing use of generative AI, data centres contributed to 1.5 per cent of global electricity consumption, a figure that is expected to double by 2030.

At the same time, artificial intelligence is proving that it can contribute to the energy transition. Industrial plants of high-tech groups such as Siemens and Nvidia have shown efficiency improvements of between 25 and 42% through the application of AI. This technology also has the potential to meet the demand for security in the energy sector, which is increasingly exposed to cyber threats: attacks against energy companies have tripled in the last four years. In the long run, the most relevant contribution of AI could be in accelerating research, for example, by allowing new high-performance and sustainable materials to be developed more quickly for applications in crucial sectors such as batteries that would otherwise require years of experimentation and high costs.

To achieve climate goals, tools will also be needed in the development phase, which are especially crucial for the most difficult sectors to decarbonise such as heavy industry and transport. The contribution of already mature solutions, including biofuels, electric vehicles and heat pumps, is considered decisive for meeting the 2030 reduction targets. In the decades to come, emerging technologies such as CO2 capture systems and green hydrogen will be indispensable to complete the energy transition.

Eni, a technology-intensive global energy company, is aligned with the goal of zero net emissions by 2050 and approaches the complexity of the transition with a 'technology neutrality' strategy. This means considering all available options - from the already established to the most advanced - evaluating them according to their effectiveness, context of use and overall impact throughout their life cycle.

One of Eni's strengths, at the basis of its innovation model, are the technological skills developed in-house over decades of activity and put at the service of the transition: highly specialised skills, which make it possible to link different sectors and identify effective solutions more quickly.

An example is HPC6, the world's most powerful industrial supercomputer, launched by Eni at the end of 2024. This system, fruit of the company's long tradition in supercomputing, is installed in Eni's Green Data Centre in the province of Pavia, equipped with an innovative cooling system that reduces its consumption. HPC6 represents a central resource for Eni's innovation strategy and already has a long list of applications: it will be used, for example, to optimise industrial operations and the accuracy of CO2 storage studies, and to develop more efficient batteries.

Innovation at Eni also stems from dialogue with the outside world, integrating internal research with solutions and skills developed outside the company. This is the Open Innovation philosophy, which is implemented through collaborations with universities, research centres and industrial partners around the world.

A central element of this strategy is Eni Next, Eni's corporate venture capital company. Created to finance start-ups active in clean energy and digital technologies, Eni Next offers benefits to both parties: in addition to funding, start-ups can count on Eni's technical expertise and knowledge of the energy market. In addition to the revenues obtained from the investments, the company gains access to the most promising solutions for its decarbonisation path.

Complementing Eni's open innovation model are Eniverse and Joule. Eniverse, Eni's Corporate Venture Builder, enhances the technologies developed by the company by transforming them into new business initiatives, creating a bridge between internal research and the market. Joule, Eni's business school, trains aspiring energy transition entrepreneurs through mentorship and acceleration programmes for sustainable start-ups.