European co. with Houston HQ enters into collaboration to accelerate AI in energy

team work

Two companies with big presences in Houston are collaborating to provide hybrid intelligence with AI. Photo via Getty Images

Two tech companies have teamed up to accelerate artificial intelligence adaption in the energy industry.

Houston-based Radix announced a strategic partnership with data and artificial intelligence company Cognite, a Norwegian company that's expanded to the U.S. by way of Houston, and will aim to implement AI "to streamline and contextualize data management and asset performance across oil and gas, energy, petrochemicals, and manufacturing industries,” according to a news release.

Radix is a global technology solutions company with expertise in engineering, data and software technology, and operations. The partnership allows Radix to utilize Cognite’s Industrial DataOps platform, and Cognite Data Fusion. The combination of Cognite Data Fusion’s innovative technology and Radix’s engineering intelligence will aim to tackle the problem of extracting information from large data pools in non-integrated systems.

According to Radix, the utilization of hybrid intelligence with AI to sort through data in a more refined manner, companies will be able to more intelligently isolate problem areas and work on solutions. This will help with energy optimization, mass balance for production accounting, and inventory management for critical materials according to Radix. Hybrid intelligence can also help accelerate access to data across various independent systems.

“Our partnership with Cognite has shown that we can bring our unique expertise together to empower companies with the hybrid intelligent tools they need to get to the data that becomes valuable and actionable information," Global Head of Alliances & Practices at Radix Flavio Guimarães says in a news release. “With Cognite Data Fusion, we help businesses streamline their data, thus helping to boost decision-making with real-time insights and drive cost reductions across the organization.”

With Cognite Data Fusionn’s solutions aim to enhance scalability, usability, and overall value for users and businesses, in what Radix has called an Industrial Applications Library. Some solutions will be showcased from October 14-15 at Cognite Impact 2024 in Houston, which will include an operational view on actionable insights, improvement workflows for field process, improvements and operational efficiency, OEE monitoring and control, preventative insights for monitoring.

“The Industrial Applications Library creates added value to the digital transformation journey helping companies to achieve optimal operational excellence and significant cost savings for our customers," Trudi Hable, head of strategic alliances for North America at Radix, adds. “Radix’s expertise and intelligence will ensure that real-time information is being relayed to Cognite Data Fusion in an efficient manner, allowing for the right data to be brought to the right people.”

From left to right: Trudi Hable and Flavio Guimarães of Radix and Laxmi Akkaraji of Cognite. Photos courtesy of Cognite

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Energy Transition and Digital Transformation collide at next week's Can't Miss energy event. Image via Shutterstock.

Can't Miss: Reuter's Data-Driven Oil and Gas Conference

DIGITAL SUSTAINABILITY

June 20-21 | Reuter’s Data-Driven Oil and Gas Conference

Energy Transition and Digital Transformation collide at next week’s Data-Driven Oil and Gas USA 2023 conference from Reuter’s Events. Join leaders in technology as they discuss digital best practices in upstream energy and how to balance going beyond Industry 4.0 with goals for energy sustainability.

“Reuters Events: Data Driven Oil & Gas 2023 will be the space for decision makers to get together to take their business to the next level by overcoming cultural blockers, breaking down silos and exploring innovative technologies to improve the bottom line and maximize output,” says Lee Cibis, global project director for oil and gas at Reuters Events.

With a robust speaker lineup, attendees can expect to hear insightful case studies, lessons learned, and visions for a lower-carbon energy future enabled by digitalization and innovative technologies. Be sure to catch a multi-operator perspective at the Tuesday panel, “One Common Goal,” which appears to echo sentiments from OTC about the importance of partnering, with emphasis on the data interoperability needed from and between vendors and operators alike.

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SLB teams with Liberty Energy on modular power for AI data centers

ai alliance

Houston-headquartered SLB and Denver-based Liberty Energy Inc. announced a strategic agreement this month to support the rapid growth of new data center capacity.

Under the agreement, SLB will supply modular data center infrastructure and oversee large-scale execution, while Liberty will provide modular power generation systems and behind-the-meter power management technology for developers looking to add capacity. According to Reuters, the power will come from natural gas generation.

“The bottleneck in AI infrastructure is no longer just compute. It is the ability to deliver infrastructure and power on the timelines the market now demands,” Gavin Rennick, president of SLB’s New Energy and Industrial business, said in a news release. “By bringing together complementary infrastructure and power capabilities, we will help developers accelerate deployment of new data center capacity.”

The companies seek to specifically offer the modular technologies in areas without traditional grid connections or where grid capacity is limited.

They also aim to improve the "efficiency, flexibility and environmental performance of future data center energy systems," potentially through solutions like hybrid power systems and digital energy management, according to the news release.

Goldman Sachs estimates that U.S. data center capacity will more than double from 31 gigawatts in 2025 to 66 gigawatts in 2027. Other reports predict that Houston and Texas will be home to a significant portion of the data center boom, with capacity in the city and the state also expected to double in the next few years.

“The scale and complexity of AI energy infrastructure is fundamentally changing how power systems are built and deployed,” Ron Gusek, CEO of Liberty Energy, added in the release. “Liberty’s comprehensive power service platform is engineered to meet this transition, as customers increasingly prioritize tailored, integrated solutions. Building on our long-standing relationship with SLB, we are excited to bring power solutions that address immediate capacity constraints while supporting the next generation of energy systems.”

SLB sold its onshore hydraulic fracturing business in the United States and Canada to Liberty Energy in December 2020 in exchange for a 37 percent equity interest in the company.

New Rice study details how carbon capture could reduce AI data center emissions

by the numbers

A new study out of Rice University points to carbon capture and storage methods as pivotal solutions to addressing emissions from AI-driven data centers.

The study was authored by Hon Chung Lau, an adjunct professor in the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at Rice University and founder of Low Carbon Energies LLC, and Steve C. Tsai, an energy transition consultant at Low Carbon Energies LLC, and published in the journal Energy & Fuels.

According to the study, U.S. data center power capacity could more than quadruple in five years, growing from 40 gigawatts in 2025 to 169 gigawatts by 2030. Without proper regulation of emissions, the report estimates that carbon dioxide produced by fossil-fuel power plants supplying electricity to data centers could grow at the same scale, increasing from 90 million metric tons to more than 404 million metric tons over the same time period.

The researchers analyzed publicly available data on announced U.S. data centers, which included energy sources, locations, and projected power capacity before estimating data center-related carbon emissions based on each state’s electricity mix. From there, they examined whether those emissions could be captured and stored underground in saline aquifers.

The team estimates that 34 states have enough saline aquifer storage capacity to store more than 100 years of projected data center-related carbon dioxide emissions beyond 2030. Aquifers could store an estimated 59 million metric tons of data center-related carbon dioxide, or about 66 percent of the sector’s emissions in 2025. However, that calculation could grow to 299 million metric tons, or about 74 percent of projected data center-related emissions by 2030.

The researchers found that more than 90 percent of data center-related carbon dioxide emissions could potentially be mitigated through carbon capture and storage when out-of-state storage options are included, even though they note that carbon capture isn’t the only solution.

“It does show that the geology exists to make a meaningful impact, especially in states where data center growth is strongest,” Lau said in a news release.

Rapid growth in states including Texas, Virginia, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Arizona, Colorado, Utah and Illinois was considered in the study. According to the findings, Texas would need to add 25 gigawatts of power capacity by 2030 to meet projected data center demand, as data centers require reliable electricity 24/7.

“Data centers are becoming one of the defining energy challenges of the AI era,” Lau added in the news release. “The question is not only whether we can build enough computing infrastructure, but whether we can power it in a way that is reliable, affordable and compatible with decarbonization goals.”

Shell strikes $1.8B deal to offload solar and wind assets in India

Renewable Exit

Reflecting its ongoing de-emphasis of renewable energy, oil and gas giant Shell has agreed to sell its solar and wind power business in India for $1.8 billion.

Aditya Birla Renewables Ltd. (ABRen) is the pending buyer of Solenergi Power Private Ltd., including the Sprng Energy group of companies. Sprng Energy develops, owns and operates utility-scale solar and wind power facilities in India.

Shell, whose U.S. headquarters is in Houston, acquired Solenergi in 2022 for $1.55 billion.

ABRen is Aditya Birla Group’s renewable energy platform. Global Infrastructure Partners, part of asset manager BlackRock, is a strategic investor in ABRen. ABRen develops and operates solar, wind, hybrid and battery storage projects in India.

“This agreement reflects Shell’s continued focus on adjusting the portfolio in our power business,” Machteld de Haan, Shell’s president of downstream, renewables and energy solutions, said in a news release. “We are high-grading our power portfolio and recycling capital in service of our asset-backed trading strategy … This is another step in building a more focused, competitive, and resilient business while improving returns year on year towards 2030.”

Under Wael Sawan, who was named CEO of Shell in 2023, the company has moved away from large-scale, low-yield green energy projects to concentrate on high-margin sectors. Those sectors include natural gas, LNG, deep-water drilling and global energy trading.

The Solenergi deal, expected to close by the end of this year, signals yet another move in Shell’s reassessment of its renewables business. The company has said it will no longer invest in offshore wind projects, but it remains committed to becoming a net-zero emissions business by 2050.

Shell said India remains an important market. In India, Shell offers LNG supply and regasification for downstream users, and also operates Shell Mobility and Shell Lubricants.

The proposed sale of the Indian renewables business continues Shell’s decreasing focus on renewables. In October, Shell exited Atlantic Shores Offshore Wind, a 50-50 joint venture created to offshore wind projects off the coast of New Jersey and New York.

Shell has declared it will not make new investments in offshore wind generation, favoring existing ventures and the expansion of EV charging infrastructure.

The company also announced plans to shut down its Volta C electric vehicle charging business in August 2025.

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