Powering a greener future

Mitigating and adapting to climate change are no longer nice-to-haves: They're essential considerations for any modern business looking to survive and thrive in the new reality.

With this in mind, digitisation offers practical pathways to empower both companies and communities to work towards a more sustainable future. 

We chatted to Ruben Muñoz Pedrero, Manager of the Digital Transformation and Monetization of Digital Assets Program at Repsol, a major Spanish energy company, to learn more. 

On a personal level, I was one of the original promoters of the MAIA project, and my professional focus has always been on making technology address real, existing problems. 

At Repsol, I have primarily worked in technology. I was part of the group tasked by senior management with understanding how the energy sector would evolve, particularly in relation to digital transformation. This project allowed me to build a broad network and gain a comprehensive view of the entire landscape. My work contributed to positioning Repsol’s transition from an oil and gas company to a multi-energy company. Currently, I’m the manager of the Digital Transformation program, which aims to transform business models through digital levers.

I also lead the Twin Transition working group at INDESIA, a Spanish industrial association for artificial intelligence, within the energy task force. In addition, I work to push forward frontier technologies aimed at solving real-world problems, through a non-profit association called CYT4ALL, where several people from the scientific and technological fields work together to contribute our part to the necessary change.

So, as you can see, my vision is a bit of a 360º perspective, and any opinion I express only represents my personal viewpoint, not that of the institutions I work for.

Twin Transition is an approach the European Commission is promoting to position European industry as a reference in sustainable digitalization. This is because Europe recognizes it has missed opportunities in the digital realm, despite being traditionally strong in industries like automotive. 

The concept focuses on two key transitions: digital transformation and the move towards a less carbon-intensive economic model. The goals are twofold: First, to apply digital solutions to ecological transition challenges. Second, to make digitalization itself sustainable. This means using digital developments not just internally, but in the broader areas where companies operate—like managing data in cities or decarbonizing supply chains.

The Twin Transition is all about creating new value propositions that combine energy, digital technologies and climate adaptation solutions. There's potential for developing and exporting services, technologies and use models, especially to developing countries. 

While energy itself doesn't travel well, the associated services and products do. For instance, we can develop hardware for better building control and export demand aggregation. We can also create technologies to quantify improvements in climate change adaptation. These value-added services and products related to the twin transition represent significant business opportunities.

The insurance sector is another area with potential. As secondary risks increase–things that were once rare but are becoming more frequent due to climate change, like flooding in certain areas that historically haven’t been prone to it–we need better information, and technology can help manage these emerging challenges.

Sustainable digitalization focuses on two main aspects. First, it's about applying digital solutions to address ecological transition challenges. The European Commission wants companies to use their digital developments not just internally, but also in the areas where they operate. For example, data management platforms developed by European companies could be used to manage data in European cities or to decarbonize supply chains.

The second aspect is making digitalization itself sustainable. With the rise of new technologies like generative artificial intelligence, energy consumption in data centers is increasing significantly. Last year, the total energy consumption of data centers was greater than that of France. This creates opportunities for more sustainable computing, such as low-carbon data centers powered by renewable energy, green algorithms and other energy-efficient solutions.

For instance, in Spain, Amazon is investing in the region of Aragon, Spain, to create data centers powered by renewable energy, which reduces computing emissions. The idea is to support the integration of renewables by providing low-carbon computing infrastructure.

Technology plays a crucial role in both climate change mitigation and adaptation. For mitigation, we're creating a less carbon-intensive economy that leverages technological developments to generate value. For adaptation, which is less talked about, technology can help evaluate and propose concrete actions citizens can take to reduce their exposure to climate change locally.

One key area is energy networks. We're moving from centralized to decentralized systems where users can produce, store, and play different roles in energy management. This shift, enabled by digitalization, creates more stable and resilient networks that can better withstand climate events.

We're seeing a significant shift in the landscape of the energy sector. Traditionally, we had large companies with extensive infrastructures producing energy. And they had big transport networks like oil pipelines and electricity grids, and end users who were purely consumers. 

Now, the need to decarbonize is driving change and digital technologies are enabling a more multidirectional system. Users can now produce energy, store it and play different roles in the system. This creates challenges for networks, many of which are being addressed through digitalization. What was previously unidirectional is now bidirectional —we can measure and aggregate consumption from many small producers and have intelligent use of buildings in terms of their connection with the network.

The European Union is now promoting policies to rehabilitate buildings and make them smarter. This isn't just about energy efficiency; it's about allowing flexibility in energy management.

Smart buildings can interact with the energy system, optimizing consumption based on energy prices and grid needs. For instance, during high-price periods, a building might reduce heating, using its thermal inertia as a battery. This concept, known as "building to grid," not only helps in energy management but also improves urban environments' ability to adapt to climate events.

Moreover, there's an emerging "survivability index" in architecture that takes into account a building's ability to adapt to climatic events. By improving building efficiency and adaptability, we can create nodes that both enable the introduction of renewables and improve climate change adaptation in their environments.

The primary barrier is citizen awareness and literacy about energy and technology. Historically, people have viewed energy as something that they just consume. We need to help citizens understand their potential role in energy management and technological adaptation. Europe is making efforts in this direction, with projects focusing on education in educational environments.

There's also a need to ensure these technologies are accessible to those who can’t afford them, to avoid exacerbating existing gaps. This requires cooperation to develop solutions that can be applied in developing countries, potentially leapfrogging traditional technological development paths.

There's also a need to consider how developing countries can create their own solutions, not just integrate those from more developed nations. This is particularly important because climate change impacts aren't limited to where CO2 emissions occur.
Lastly, there's the challenge of balancing the development of these technologies in areas where developing countries may not be present while still ensuring they can benefit from and contribute to these advancements.

So there’s a lot to do, but positive things are happening.

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Created with funding from the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the granting authority. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.

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