AI Energy Cluster is entering a new phase. After months of workshops, strategy sessions and cross-industry dialogue involving leading actors across energy, technology and industry, the initiative is now moving from exploration and alignment toward practical collaboration, pilot development and implementation. The process has revealed both significant opportunities and shared challenges related to scaling AI in the energy system — particularly around data integration, interoperability, trust and operational deployment — and highlighted the growing need for stronger collaboration across organisations and value chains.

Over the past months, Energy Valley has facilitated an extensive strategy process for AI Energy Cluster, bringing together actors across energy, industry, technology, software, infrastructure and research to explore how artificial intelligence can create practical value in the energy system.

The process has included:

• workshops and strategy sessions,
• bilateral meetings,
• open webinars,
• and a dedicated strategy and alignment session on April 30.

Participants have included representatives from companies and organisations such as DNV, Statkraft, ABB, Siemens, AIZE, Kongsberg Maritime, Cognizant, Honeywell, HPE, TechnipFMC, Digital Norway, Smart City Bærum, Scatec, Wood, Aker Solutions and several others.

Shared challenges – and shared opportunities

Across the discussions, a clear pattern emerged:

The main barriers to scaling AI in the energy sector are increasingly not technological.

Instead, the key challenges are linked to:

• data integration,
• interoperability,
• governance and trust,
• operational implementation,
• and the difficulty of scaling beyond isolated pilots.

At the same time, participants consistently highlighted the value of creating a trusted arena for collaboration, knowledge-sharing and exchange of experiences across organisations and value chains.

Several participants also emphasised that many of the challenges facing the industry are shared — and that stronger coordination and collaboration may become increasingly important in order to realise system-level value creation.

From broad exploration to focused collaboration

Based on the strategy process, AI Energy Cluster is now moving into a more practical mobilisation and development phase.

An updated strategy framework has now been prepared, focusing on four interconnected strategic areas:

• Trusted Operational AI & Predictive Maintenance
• Industrial Data Integration & Interoperability
• Security, Resilience & Dual Use Energy Systems
• Autonomous Systems, Robotics & Physical AI

A strong cross-cutting theme throughout the process has also been:
trust, governance and industrial implementation of AI.

The ambition is not to create heavy structures too early, but rather to:

• continue building momentum,
• strengthen collaboration,
• identify high-value opportunities,
• and gradually mature concrete initiatives, pilot tracks and funding opportunities.

Help shape the next phase

As part of the transition into the next phase, we are now inviting participants and interested stakeholders to contribute to a short prioritisation survey.

The survey will help shape:

• upcoming workshops,
• thematic focus areas,
• collaboration tracks,
• and future pilot and project development activities.

👉 https://forms.gle/XzXGvt9CtK9arFiK9

The survey takes approximately 3–5 minutes to complete.

Open invitation to participate

AI Energy Cluster is designed as an open and collaborative platform, and we welcome dialogue with companies, technology environments, public actors, researchers and organisations interested in contributing to the next phase of the initiative.

If you would like to:

• participate in future workshops,
• contribute with use cases,
• explore pilot opportunities,
• or discuss potential collaboration,

please feel free to reach out.

The transition from AI experimentation to operational implementation in the energy system is still in an early phase — and the need for trusted collaboration across actors is becoming increasingly clear.

We look forward to continuing the journey together.