Sultan Al Jaber participates in Atlantic Council Global Energy Forum in Washington

Al Etihad

7 hours ago

18 June 2025 13:04
WASHINGTON (WAM)Dr. Sultan bin Ahmed Al Jaber, Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology, Managing Director and Group CEO of ADNOC, and Executive Chairman of XRG, on Wednesday called for the energy, technology, finance, and policy sectors to work in sync to meet the once-in-a-generation investment opportunity of artificial intelligence (AI).Delivering a keynote address in Washington DC at the ninth edition of the Atlantic Council Global Energy Forum to an audience of policymakers and industry leaders, Dr. Al Jaber described AI as the next stage of human evolution—and emphasised that meeting its demands will require an equally transformative shift in energy policy, investment, and infrastructure.'The race for AI supremacy is not just about code—it's about gigawatts,' he said.'Every AI breakthrough consumes more power. And right now, global energy systems are not ready.' He noted that the US alone may require 50–150 gigawatts of new capacity by 2030, dependent on the energy source, equivalent to the total consumption of dozens of major cities.To meet that challenge, Dr. Al Jaber outlined a system-wide roadmap—developed in partnership with XRG, MGX, and the Atlantic Council—calling for fast-tracked permitting, modernised grids, and strategic investment in gas, nuclear, and renewables.'You can't run tomorrow's technology on yesterday's grid,' he said.'Permitting delays and supply chain bottlenecks are now threats to progress. Policy must help, not hold back.'Dr. Al Jaber highlighted that the size of the opportunity is huge and the key to unlocking it is partnership. He explained that this is why the UAE and the US are enjoying a 'powerhouse partnership' across every sector.'For us, the United States is not just a partner—it's an investment imperative,' Dr. Al Jaber added.'US companies are among the UAE's largest concession partners, active from upstream to downstream. Currently, the UAE energy sector works with US companies across 18 states and 50 facilities, from gas to chemicals to energy infrastructure and energy solutions.''XRG is an anchor partner in the largest LNG facility in Texas. We produce speciality chemicals across the country. And our renewable energy company, Masdar, has developed 5.5GW of operational capacity from coast-to-coast. And we are just getting started. To help harness that ambition, we opened a joint XRG/Masdar office right here in Washington DC.'He highlighted that a single new data centre can consume as much electricity as a city the size of Pittsburgh.'Meeting this demand is not just a technical challenge – it is a once-in-a-generation investment opportunity. One that requires a system-wide shift, with energy, technology, finance, and policy operating in sync,' he said.Dr. Al Jaber argued that 'in the age of hyperscalers, we must hyperscale energy,' calling for reliable baseload sources such as gas and nuclear, backed by renewables, energy storage, and emerging solutions like small modular reactors (SMRs) and fusion. He also advocated for a 'pragmatic pause' on early retirements of existing power plants while expanding nuclear capacity.He emphasised that modernising power delivery is equally urgent. 'Wait times for key components like transformers can exceed three years. That's not just a supply chain problem – it's a bottleneck to industrial growth. Unlocking this opportunity requires permitting reform, workforce development and de-risked capital.'He noted that, 'the tech sector runs on quarterly horizons; the power sector runs on decade-long timelines. We must bridge that divide. We must de-risk major capital investments, and policy must help, not hold-up progress. Currently, there are 2600GW of planned capacity around the world waiting for a connection. We must take that gridlock out of the grid.'Explaining that power generation 'is just one half of the equation' and 'delivering that power to the end user is the other, more complex half,' he called for efforts to train one million new electricians for the 21st century grid and unleashing AI's own potential to help manage energy systems more efficiently.Addressing the situation in the Middle East, and its impact on regional and energy security, Dr. Al Jaber emphasised that the UAE will always stand for dialogue, de-escalation and diplomacy in resolving disputes and called on all parties to show restraint, respect the sovereignty of states and adhere to international law.'Concluding his remarks, Dr. Al Jaber called for greater collaboration to fully harness the power of AI and unlock significant economic opportunities.'To realise the full power of AI, we must give it the power it needs. That starts with a coordinated roadmap applied locally and scaled globally. We need policy that clears the path, infrastructure that carries the load, and investment that meets the moment.''AI and energy are the twin engines of progress. Two engines. One direction. Fast-forward into the future.'Dr. Al Jaber was speaking a day after convening the second ENACT Forum in Washington DC The Majlis-style meeting brought together leaders from energy, technology, finance, and government to advance a cross-sector action agenda for meeting AI-driven power demand, accelerating infrastructure investment, and delivering the system-wide solutions needed at speed and scale.Building on these discussions, a new roadmap for cross-sector action was published today titled "Powering the Next Great Leap in Human Progress." It sets out the opportunities and integrated solutions required both to address the immediate energy surge from rapid AI-driven data centre growth, and to guide longer-term investments that will build a smarter, more resilient, and more efficient energy system.The report highlights practical approaches across the full energy value chain, investment and policy opportunities, many of which are themselves AI enabled. It includes optimising existing generation capacity, modernising and expanding grid infrastructure, incentivising demand management, strategically siting new data centres and accelerating next-generation technologies.
The framework emphasises the need for bold, system-wide action to ensure that the full transformative potential of AI can be fully realised.