World Future Energy Summit 2026 highlights the role of artificial intelligence in clean energy

Abu Dhabi, 27 November / WAM / The World Future Energy Summit 2026 highlights artificial intelligence technologies and their potential to redraw the features of energy production, transmission and distribution in an effective and data-enhanced manner, especially in light of its emergence as a transformative force in the clean energy sector.

The summit will be held at the ADNEC Abu Dhabi Center from January 13 to 15, and will be one of the most prominent events on the agenda of Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week 2026.

While artificial intelligence is featured in all seven dialogue tracks hosted by the event this year, the 2026 edition builds on this momentum and jointly strengthens its program with the launch of the Fuse AI area designed to promote technology-based transformation with the participation of more than 40 companies specializing in providing artificial intelligence solutions for clean energy, smart infrastructure and climate resilience.

The summit will also host the first edition of the Artificial Intelligence Conference, a forum that addresses ways to responsibly use artificial intelligence technologies with the aim of accelerating development in the energy, infrastructure and smart cities sectors.

The summit brings together the most prominent thought leaders, innovators and policy influencers, and its dialogues focus on the predictive potential of artificial intelligence and its ability to improve the management of clean energy flows, providing an important technical advantage to help low-carbon systems scale efficiently.

The Middle East and North Africa region is witnessing a significant acceleration in the adoption of artificial intelligence technologies in various fields, from managing electricity networks and responding to demand, to connecting sectors and maintaining systems.

On the other hand, developments in the areas of forecasting and energy storage are contributing to enhanced performance, opening the way for companies to deliver renewable energy with greater levels of efficiency and reliability. Attention remains focused on how best to realize the full potential of artificial intelligence to power future sustainable energy systems.

Focuses of interest include the ability of artificial intelligence to fill gaps in energy policies, which have long hampered the transition towards carbon-free energy; It examined the ability of this pioneering technology to accelerate innovation, enabling researchers and entrepreneurs to quickly conduct tests and prove the effectiveness of the technologies in making a direct impact on carbon removal efforts.

A group of prominent experts participating in the upcoming summit in January will address these pressing topics, as well as the role of artificial intelligence in enhancing efforts to explore the process of intentional carbon capture.

The UAE’s clean energy goals, set out in the UAE Climate Neutrality Strategy 2050, include increasing the share of clean energy to 50% of the country’s total energy mix by 2050, reducing carbon emissions by 70%, and tripling the production capacity of renewable energy by 2030. Artificial intelligence will play a pivotal role in achieving these clean energy goals across the region.

The report of the Advisory Committee of the World Future Energy Summit and Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week on Artificial Intelligence and Technology Visions for 2025 supports this proposition, emphasizing the ability of artificial intelligence to enhance the efficiency and reliability of clean energy and infrastructure networks in the region and the world.

According to the report, smart grid algorithms can reach accurate forecasts and then balance the supply and demand sides of electricity simultaneously, in addition to their role in integrating new energy sources and reducing the need to build new power generation plants.

The report stressed the importance of investing in digital infrastructure and skills to allow service facilities to benefit from data to improve the network and preventive maintenance measures.

The 2026 edition also addresses the growing role of artificial intelligence in enhancing energy efficiency within buildings. In this context, the World Economic Forum pointed out the role of artificial intelligence technologies in helping companies reduce energy consumption by up to 60% in some cases.

While the sector’s journey to harness the full potential of artificial intelligence in this field is still in its infancy, there is a wide range of opportunities for progress.

An elite group of sector experts will participate in a series of seminars and dialogue sessions to explore the main challenges and opportunities in the field of energy efficiency within homes and companies in the Middle East and North Africa region and beyond.

Speakers will discuss the role of design tools enhanced by artificial intelligence and automation in creating energy and water efficient environments that meet the needs of their users without exceeding specified budgets.

They are also investigating the ability of intelligent software to quickly test design options to identify solutions that can reduce costs and reduce environmental impact. Additional sessions address the role of innovation, collaboration and resilient supply chains in supporting efforts to build a sustainable urban future.

For his part, Shyam Parmer, Director of the World Future Energy Summit, said: “The World Future Energy Summit brings together a group of the brightest minds in the global energy scene, enhancing its pioneering role in realizing the enormous potential of artificial intelligence with the aim of improving energy efficiency in homes and businesses and accelerating progress made in all aspects of the clean energy and sustainability system.”

He added: “The Fuse AI Zone and the Artificial Intelligence Conference provide a unique platform for knowledge exchange, cooperation, and direct dialogue on ways of responsible and effective use of artificial intelligence. These dialogues are of great importance for developing the artificial intelligence agenda and ensuring the ability of companies to benefit from their full potential in line with their ambitions in the field of clean energy. In turn, we are keen to strengthen this dialogue to contribute to translating innovation into reality, and transforming ambitious ideas into tangible results that move the world towards a future centered around sustainable energy.”

Despite the clear transformative potential of AI, reliable estimates suggest that AI-related electricity consumption could grow by up to 50% annually between 2023 and 2030, with data center electricity demand expected to grow from 1% of total global energy demand in 2022 to more than 3% by 2030.

In January 2025, the Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company “Masdar” and the Emirates Water and Electricity Company announced the launch of the first and largest renewable energy project of its kind in the world, which combines solar energy with a battery storage system in Abu Dhabi, and provides up to one gigawatt of clean base load energy per day.

The 2025 Artificial Intelligence and Technology Insights Report indicated the potential of such projects to change the ways vital artificial intelligence systems are supplied with energy, eliminating the need to provide reserve stocks of fossil fuels. When connected to clean energy sources, artificial intelligence data centers can operate without emitting any carbon emissions, which represents an important step towards shaping a more sustainable digital future.

In addition, the summit examines mechanisms for dealing with the impact of artificial intelligence in terms of energy consumption through a dialogue session dedicated to practical strategies for aligning the growth of artificial intelligence with climate goals, achieving a balance in energy consumption, and promoting sustainable innovation while ensuring usability.

In turn, Mehdi Agana, Head of Strategy at Nabat Company, said: “The role of artificial intelligence in climate systems and the environment is rapidly expanding, and understanding how to direct this growth has become as important as developing the technology itself. At the World Future Energy Summit, we will look at practical, data-driven methods, from improving the accuracy of citizen classification models and assessing their health status, to monitoring carbon and biodiversity indicators that help align innovation in artificial intelligence with measurable climate outcomes.”

He added: “The summit represents a wonderful opportunity to bring together organizations with similar visions, to listen, learn, explore what is possible, and understand how to employ artificial intelligence responsibly to accelerate real progress towards global sustainability goals.”

The 2026 edition of the World Future Energy Summit will also explore the role of artificial intelligence in the sectors of healthcare, food security and weather modeling through a keynote presentation on the “Earth-2 Lab”, a solution that is the result of a collaboration between G42 and NVIDIA, and provides a weather forecast model with a resolution of a square kilometer to improve the accuracy of monitoring weather forecasts.

The pioneering solution provides a valuable service to farmers and smart agriculture planners, and allows them to make informed decisions about crop selection, their expected productivity, and conservation measures.

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