The Energy Exchange - Which Innovations Will Shape the Future of Energy

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The Energy Exchange - Which Innovations Will Shape the Future of Energy?

Produced by CNBC for TotalEnergies, The Energy Exchange is an editorial series that draws on interviews with selected experts to analyze the major issues shaping the global energy landscape. It reinforces TotalEnergies' position and reaches as a thought leader shaping the global energy conversation, alongside other respected industry voices.

Summary

• Producing more energy while reducing emissions: a complex equation
• The need to deploy innovation at scale
• Artificial Intelligence: both an energy challenge and an innovation accelerator
• TotalEnergies invests in innovation to accelerate the energy transition
• Learn more

Faced with rapidly growing global energy demand and the climate emergency, innovation is emerging as one of the key drivers of transformation in the energy sector. Artificial intelligence, energy storage, carbon capture and storage (CCS)... Which technologies could shape the energy system of tomorrow?

In this third episode of The Energy Exchange, three experts share their perspectives on innovation:

• Marie-Noëlle Semeria, Chief Technology Officer and President of OneTech at TotalEnergies
• Nigel Brandon, Dean of the Faculty of Engineering and Professor of Sustainable Development in Energy at Imperial College London
• Prakash Sharma, Vice President and Head of Scenarios & Technologies at Wood Mackenzie

Producing more energy while reducing emissions: a complex equation

Global energy demand continues to rise, driven by population growth, the electrification of end uses, and the expansion of digital technologies. At the same time, the need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions is requiring a profound transformation of the energy system. To meet this dual challenge, innovation is emerging as an essential lever. The objective is to provide affordable, reliable, and available energy to as many people as possible, while remaining aligned with climate goals and reducing energy access inequalities that still affect hundreds of millions of people around the world.

The need to deploy innovation at scale

No matter how promising a technology may be, it can only deliver a lasting transformation of the energy system if it moves beyond the research stage and is deployed at scale. This step is essential to improve performance, lower costs, and make solutions accessible to as many people as possible. Solar power is a clear example: driven by massive industrial investment, particularly in China, it has experienced a dramatic decline in costs and has become a cornerstone of the energy transition.

Today, other technologies, such as battery energy storage, geothermal energy, and carbon capture and storage (CCS), are seeking to follow the same path. Their success will depend not only on their technological performance, but also on the ability of public and private stakeholders to create the conditions necessary for their industrialization and large-scale deployment.

Artificial Intelligence: both an energy challenge and an innovation accelerator

Artificial intelligence is emerging as one of the most promising technologies for supporting the transformation of the energy system. While its rapid development is driving higher electricity demand, particularly through the growth of data centers, it is also creating new opportunities to address the challenges of the energy transition. By analyzing vast amounts of data, AI can optimize infrastructure operations, improve power grid balancing, anticipate equipment failures, and accelerate the development of new solutions. Combined with advances in high-performance computing, it helps shorten innovation cycles and enhance the performance of energy systems.

Its potential also extends to field operations, with the deployment of robots and autonomous machines capable of maintaining infrastructure such as wind farms and solar power plants. Rather than replacing human expertise, artificial intelligence can serve as a decision-support tool, helping industry leaders and policymakers design the energy system of tomorrow.

TotalEnergies invests in innovation to accelerate the energy transition

Corporate R&D is helping drive the latest wave of technological innovation. To support the transformation of the energy system, TotalEnergies relies on a substantial Research & Development program. In 2025, the Company invested $1 billion in R&D, innovation, and digital technologies, mobilizing more than 3,500 engineers, researchers, and technicians across about ten research centers worldwide. The Company also invests in cutting-edge technological tools, such as Pangea 5, its high-performance supercomputer, whose computing power has been increased sixfold compared with its original version to accelerate data analysis and the development of new energy solutions.

Convinced that no single player can innovate alone, TotalEnergies works each year with more than 1,000 external partners, including start-ups, universities, research laboratories, and industrial companies. This open innovation approach is designed to accelerate the journey from laboratory breakthrough to industrial-scale deployment in key fields such as artificial intelligence, energy storage, low-carbon technologies, and carbon capture and storage (CCS) solutions.

Learn more