Catalyst with Shayle Kann11 Mars 2025

How AI is solving real utility challenges [partner content]

Laurent Boinot, a power and utilities leader at Microsoft, remembers the moment he discovered the power of artificial intelligence. Years ago, as a student using a basic AI model to assess World Bank project risks, he was amazed to discover the technology outperformed human experts. "With a very basic AI tool, we were able to replicate that risk analysis and do a better job than the human graders did," says Boinot. Today, Boinot works with utilities to implement AI solutions — an industry traditionally resistant to new technologies. "Our customers want to be fast followers, and in order to be fast followers, you need to follow someone, so someone has to go first. That's definitely an issue in this sector in particular," explains Boinot. Despite this hesitation, Boinot sees AI transforming everything from regulatory processes to grid management. In this episode, produced in partnership with Microsoft, Laurent Boinot talks with Stephen Lacey about where AI can have the biggest impact on utilities. They discuss how AI is supporting field workers, enabling scientific breakthroughs in battery technology, and helping companies like Constellation provide "24/7 matching" of green electricity — moving from "net zero to actual zero emission." This is a partner episode, brought to you by Microsoft. Learn more about how Microsoft is working with utilities and other energy companies to deploy AI to accelerate the energy transition.

Det här avsnittet är hämtat från ett öppet RSS-flöde och publiceras inte av Podme. Det kan innehålla reklam.

Avsnitt(258)

Surprising trends in global electricity generation

While global electricity demand is unquestionably rising, we may nonetheless be underestimating the scale of necessary future generation. In this episode, Shayle speaks to Nic Fulghum, senior energy ...

4 Juni 44min

Building inference data centers on the high seas

Amidst the increasing urgency of powering data centers, a new solution has entered the mix: send them out to sea. In this episode, Shayle speaks to Garth Sheldon-Coulson, co-founder and CEO of Pantha...

28 Maj 48min

A blueprint for scalable fusion power

For years, the prospect of commercial nuclear fusion felt a long way off. But recent breakthroughs—like Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory’s historic 2022 net energy gain—have marked a new chapter...

21 Maj 40min

Inside the global fertilizer crunch

While much of the world has been focused on the war in Iran’s impact on the energy sector, another arguably more impactful market has been largely overlooked: fertilizer. The global fertilizer market...

14 Maj 36min

Cracking the code on autonomous trucking

Even though autonomous passenger vehicles have entered the mainstream in cities across the country, autonomous trucks still lag behind. But Humble Robotics thinks it has cracked the code with a new de...

7 Maj 43min

How AI is modernizing EPCs

As the utility-scale solar market collides with an era defined by massive load growth, EPC (engineering, procurement, and construction) firms are rethinking their strategy to meet the moment. In this...

30 Apr 34min

Inside Google’s massive AI capex (live)

As the race to build out artificial intelligence accelerates, the infrastructure required to support it is undergoing a remarkable transformation. In February, Google announced a plan to spend $175 bi...

23 Apr 35min

How Base Power plans to use its fresh $1B [re-published]

[This episode is a re-run from October 2025. Look out for a new episode of Catalyst on Thursday, April 23.] Yesterday, Base Power announced a ⁠$1 billion series C⁠, giving the residential battery c...

16 Apr 39min