Microsoft at CERAWeek: Accelerating digital transformation for a sustainable energy future
Sustainability and decarbonization continue to be at the top of the global energy agenda and will be for the foreseeable future. As a leading technology partner of the energy industry, Microsoft works closely with customers and partners to navigate these complex issues and to deliver technology solutions to transform the industry.
To support Microsoft’s long-standing commitment to the energy industry, we are thrilled to participate in CERAWeek 2022, March 7 to 11, 2022, in Houston to address how we can tackle these challenges together and capitalize on the opportunities ahead. We hope to see you throughout the week; on the main stage, in the leadership circles, in the Agora innovation sessions, and at our Agora House booth, where participants will be able to learn about and experience our digital technology and partner solutions firsthand. These initiatives will take global cross-industry collaboration at an enormous scale, powered by technology, innovation, and leadership. We look forward to seeing you together with our customers and partners to showcase the efforts that are advancing sustainability, decarbonization, and the grid of the future.
Meet Microsoft energy and sustainability leaders in Houston
CERAWeek convenes leading voices from across the energy industry to inspire thought-provoking conversations on a wide range of topics. Microsoft’s energy and sustainability leaders will be speaking on the state of the global energy industry and how technology and innovation will be the solution drivers in the following sessions:
- Sverre Brandsberg-Dahl, Chief Technology Officer, Microsoft Cloud for Industry, will discuss how technology is at the forefront of the energy transition as the industry works collaboratively to pivot quickly to a carbon-free future. How do we help complex industries like energy and manufacturing create long-term solutions for energy production and consumption while helping to meet their zero-carbon aspirations? How will the Metaverse tie together advanced AI and machine learning capabilities with the highly complex legacy world of industry?
- Dave Wisenteiner, General Manager, Microsoft Cloud for Industry, will share the stage with Petronas and BP to discuss the power of collaboration. Through the groundbreaking partnership with Schlumberger and Chevron, Microsoft has enabled some of the largest domain workloads to take advantage of cloud and AI capabilities while providing users the same familiar tools. This work sets the stage to help the energy industry move to a zero-carbon future with partnerships in carbon and emissions and enabling renewables at scale.
- Jon Guidroz, Worldwide Director, Energy and Sustainability, together with Cognite and AVEVA, will discuss the role AI plays in a rapidly changing, data-intense energy value chain. How can AI help unlock new opportunities in the energy transition? What methods can help manage the mix of new and traditional energy sources to ensure low-carbon reliable supplies?
- Brian Janous, General Manager, Datacenter Energy, will discuss grid decarbonization strategies and scaling clean energy with our partners. As a global scale electricity consumer, we are working with utilities, energy companies, and regulators to enable massive scale development and consumption of clean energy to help set society on a path to 100 percent grid decarbonization. How we move to 100 percent renewable energy while enabling the transition for our partners and vendors at the same pace? And how must we move to meet our 100/100/0 commitment by 2030—100 percent of our electricity, 100 percent of the time, on zero-carbon resources?
- In addition to the other Microsoft sessions, I am excited to participate on a panel led by energy thought leader Atul Arya discussing the pathways to energy innovation and digital technologies with the biggest potential to contribute to meeting sustainability and getting to net-zero—is it about deployment at scale or do we also need new inventions? What new emissions reduction technologies are being developed, tested, and deployed, and how are data and analytics being used to reduce emissions?
Microsoft’s vision for a net-zero future
At the Microsoft Agora House, we will be showcasing with our partners the latest innovations that are transforming the industry to accelerate clean energy. Participants will have an opportunity to experience technologies that are driving deep decarbonization across the entire energy ecosystem.
Visitors to our booth will also have the opportunity to learn more about one of our newest cloud offerings, Microsoft Cloud for Sustainability, which helps companies manage their environmental initiatives to accelerate each stage of their sustainability journey.
To help all companies achieve the vision of a net-zero future, the solution is designed to help companies take control of their environmental initiatives, offering a set of comprehensive, integrated, and automated insights. At CERAWeek, we will be providing live demonstrations of this new offering so companies can learn and experience how the solution can advance their journey to net-zero.
The power of technology and partnerships
The climate challenges we face have far-reaching impacts beyond the energy sector and will require cross-industry collaboration and innovation across the global ecosystem. Microsoft values our partnerships and the solutions our partners offer. These companies, who are at the forefront of change, will be demonstrating technologies that are advancing digital transformation to help every company meet its decarbonization and clean energy goals. A few of the many partnerships and solutions which will be featured include:
Through an expanded partnership, Microsoft and Schlumberger offer a data and AI solution to the energy industry. With a global cloud-based data solution that’s scalable and secure, energy companies are poised to improve productivity and performance across the enterprise. By harnessing AI technologies, companies can simplify their data to gain valuable insights and streamline workflows.
The Northern Lights project is a joint effort between Microsoft, the Norwegian government, and energy providers Equinor, Shell, and Total, which aims to standardize and scale carbon capture and storage across Europe. This project is also showing how we can repurpose existing oil and gas technology in carbon storage.
Built on Microsoft Azure, Vattenfall’s 24/7 Hourly Matching solution supplies customers with continuous carbon-free energy, providing them with a more accurate picture of energy usage on an hourly basis, not just monthly or yearly. Vattenfall is using this solution to power Microsoft Sweden’s new home with renewable energy all day, contributing to Microsoft’s 100/100/0 commitment that by 2030, 100 percent of electrons, 100 percent of the time, are generated from zero-carbon sources. The solution allows Vattenfall to trace electricity from carbon-free generation assets and energy storage to provide information to electricity customers on the exact source of their energy every hour of the day.
Microsoft and TerraPraxis have been working together to create Azure tools to enable automated analysis of the US (and ultimately global) coal power generation fleet for retrofit. Microsoft will build the analytics tools with TerraPraxis and help undertake strategic partnerships with Repowering Coal consortium stakeholders. At the Microsoft booth during CERAWeek, TerraPraxis will offer demonstrations of the Azure tools showcasing the opportunity for retrofitting coal power plants.
Each year at CERAWeek, new ideas emerge, collaborations spark, and partnerships develop. The Microsoft team is thrilled to engage in these conversations and co-innovate solutions that power progress across the entire energy ecosystem. If you are attending, we invite you to connect in person with our team, our partners, and our customers during the sessions and at our Agora House. Safe travels and see you in Houston, March 7 to 11, 2022!
Learn more
- Read more about how Microsoft partners with energy companies to accelerate digital transformation.
- To learn more about Microsoft for Energy, visit our future of energy industry solutions website.
