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When Isaac Newton saw an apple drop from a tree and wondered about gravity, he was conceptualizing how to adapt a visual process into a strategy for change, and so was James Watt when he examined steam escaping a kettle and thought about the steam engine.

Understanding the laws of physics and harnessing raw power created the modern world. Since then, thinkers have harnessed the power of science and technology to benefit humankind. The latest example of this endeavor is the internet of energy. IoE systems entail a holistic transformation of energy grids with automation and infrastructure upgrades.

Heightened efficiency, robust grid support and reduced carbon footprints are benefits of IoE transitions. This approach is especially significant in the 21st century as we work together to accelerate the global energy transition toward carbon neutrality.

With the opportunities presented by the IoE, we are on the cusp of delivering massive changes in our ecosystem around energy, water and food production – all interrelated and productive to each other.

The IoE offers huge advances at a fast pace and will accelerate change beyond the realm of the utility sector.

As energy generation and storage facilities multiply and decentralize and consumers of electricity switch from connected devices to electric vehicles, we face more complexities. Yet, at the same time, new opportunities are opening up to reward the most efficient
strategies, reduce overall waste, level out spikes and drive productivity.

With the IoE, we suddenly find ways to automatically turn pumps on and off for a heating system, switch on or off lights or even schedule our washing machine to start its cycle at a specific time and passively optimize devices that consume energy. This technology allows us to feed previously untapped energy into the grid.

Using technologies that can broadly be called artificial intelligence — from employing the cloud, software and data — strategies are emerging that reimagine our energy ecosystems. Using AI, we can build cooling systems working in harmony with green power generation with the same benefits for water pumps in fields, water heaters, air conditioning and EVs.

In some cases, consumers of energy could also become energy suppliers. Indeed, through decentralization of energy storage, future EVs could deliver power back to the grid for cities and regions, optimizing prices and reducing waste and emissions.

With an ever-growing arsenal of technologies to support it, the possibilities of what an IoE can achieve are endless. So why build new infrastructure when AI can often move faster and accelerate our transition?

With these tools at our disposal, we also have a duty toward our planet. We must consider how we can match pace with the UN’s sustainable development goals No. 6, clean water and sanitation; No. 7, affordable and clean energy; and No. 13, climate action, by fostering the transition to sustainable energy utilization.

Two-thirds of annual global water losses amounting to $141 billion are in emerging markets. If we reduce this, we will make a huge impact. With the deployment of smart electric grids embedded in IoE systems, we have solutions that can reduce carbon emissions from the utility industry by 25 percent.

Realistically speaking, we need to apply processes that help put satellites into orbit or enable smartphones to run our lives to optimize how we use water and generate electricity. Yet this change requires an economic driver. In this instance, the incentive for change comes from increasing utility revenues by reducing inefficiencies in leakages and theft, realizing uncollected revenue, improving operational efficiency and enhancing load management.

Instead of reinventing the wheel, we need to be refining the wheel. So, why not refine the electricity grid with AI so that benefits the industry as well as humankind? It’s an idea whose time has come just like Newton’s symbolic apple and Watt’s steam engine that needs to be harnessed to the fullest.

• Ahmed Ashour is CEO and co-founder of Pylon.