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Why the Energy Industry Will Define the Future of Technology

Deepak Garg

Deepak Garg

May 26, 2025

Why the Energy Industry Will Define the Future of Technology

There’s a quiet but undeniable truth reshaping our world: the future of technology is, unequivocally, the future of energy, and vice versa. And that future is not some far-off vision—it’s already knocking at our doors, testing the limits of our systems, our infrastructure, and our imagination.

We’re in the midst of a convergence that’s both exciting and urgent. On one hand, we see incredible advancements in AI, cloud computing, and connected systems. On the other, the energy sector is undergoing a transformation unlike any it has experienced in the past century. These worlds are not just brushing up against each other—they’re colliding, intertwining, and co-evolving. And the stakes? Nothing less than the sustainability, security, and accessibility of our planet’s energy.

 

The Convergence of Technology and Energy

Energy has evolved into more than just a utility—it’s the foundation on which modern technology is being built.

Massive AI data centers are reshaping energy demand patterns, requiring ultra-reliable, high-capacity grids and access to affordable electricity at scale. As generative AI applications expand, the appetite for compute power—and by extension, electric power—is growing exponentially.

In fact, AI’s growth today isn’t limited by data or computing power, it’s bound by energy availability. Data centers are already among the world’s largest energy consumers, and by 2030, they could use more electricity than entire nations like Japan. The current AI boom only intensifies this trend, turning energy infrastructure into a critical resource.

The rapid adoption of electric vehicles brings its own wave of challenges. It’s not just about charging infrastructure, it’s about intelligent load balancing, dynamic rate design, and ensuring the grid can handle spikes in demand without compromising reliability. At the same time, EVs are offering new opportunities for vehicle-to-grid technology, where stored energy in electric vehicles can be used to support the grid during high-demand periods.

Quantum computing, still in its early stages, is another frontier that depends on an electricity infrastructure that is stable, precise, and interruption-free. And with robotics becoming more common across manufacturing, logistics, and even healthcare, industrial energy demands are intensifying, raising the bar for grid reliability and real-time responsiveness.

In short: the technologies shaping our future are all deeply, even critically, dependent on the energy systems of today. And that means energy can no longer evolve on a separate track. It must be an active participant—and enabler—of the technology revolution.

 

The Grid’s Growing Pains

The energy grid wasn’t built for the world we live in today. In many places, we’re still operating on infrastructure designed in the 1950s, built for one-way power flow, predictable demand, and a far less electrified society.

We’re now asking that same grid to support AI-powered data centers, EV fleets, rooftop solar, battery storage, and decentralized energy trading—all at once. It’s like laying train tracks decades ago and now asking them to handle drones, self-driving cars, and maglev trains. The ambition is extraordinary, but the foundation needs to evolve.

But within this stress lies a powerful opportunity. An opportunity to move from a static, one-way system to a dynamic, intelligent, two-way ecosystem. One that can sense, learn, and adapt in real time. One that connects generation to consumption—and people to insight—with speed and scale.

This is the moment to reimagine—not just repair—what powers our world.

 

The Root Problem: A Disconnected Energy Ecosystem

At the heart of the issue is a disconnection—not just between systems, but between people, data, operations, and outcomes. Customer experience is often fragmented. Workforce enablement is siloed. Grid intelligence is reactive. And the communication across all of them? Sporadic at best.

But the urgency of fixing this disconnect becomes even clearer when we consider the kind of grid the future demands.

This disconnection limits agility, blinds us to insight, and slows down response when seconds matter. It’s not enough to digitize. We must connect. Not just things—but people, decisions, and intent.

We are heading toward an energy ecosystem that is decentralized and distributed—fueled by renewables, behind-the-meter storage, EVs, and bidirectional energy flows. It's not a single monolithic system anymore; it's a living, breathing, many-to-many network of generation, consumption, and exchange.

That future requires modernized, flexible infrastructure capable of real-time responsiveness. It demands intelligent systems that can optimize for 85–95% asset utilization, balance unpredictable load patterns from EVs and AI data centers, and integrate battery storage and virtual power plants to maintain equilibrium across the grid.

Only a unified, deeply integrated ecosystem can rise to that challenge. Anything less is just patchwork – and patchwork doesn’t scale.

 

People + AI: A New Framework for Resilience

AI and energy are now locked in a feedback loop—each one reshaping the future of the other.

The growth of AI depends on energy. Every model trained, every data center powered, every millisecond of computation demands electricity. But at the same time, AI is redefining how the energy industry operates—helping us optimize demand, manage complexity, predict outages, and move from reactive systems to proactive intelligence.


About the Author

Deepak Garg is the Founder & Co-CEO of Smart Energy Water (SEW). A respected leader in the technology and utility industry, Deepak has over two decades of experience in product development and is responsible for driving innovation, vision, and strategy at SEW. Deepak has spearheaded SEW’s initiatives to build innovative digital platforms that address the challenges of global sustainability and help utilities connect with people. He has successfully established high-powered technology teams, to develop the #1 Digital Customer Experience, Digital Workforce Experience, Smart AI/ML Analytics platforms that address key business challenges for energy, water and gas providers. All the SEW platforms leverage next-gen technologies such as Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, IoT, to power customer and workforce experiences. Backing on scalability, modularity, flexibility, and security, SEW clients deliver award-wining experiences and set new benchmarks for the industry.

Driven by Deepak’s stellar vision, SEW has navigated 37+ geographies to serve energy and utility companies, connecting 1.5 B+ people and serving 22000+ Smart Cities/communities.

Deepak’s passion and dedication to transform the energy and utility industry is mirrored in the company’s vision to Engage, Educate, and Empower. Deepak founded SEW, guided by five core values — Sustainability, Integrity, Innovation, Compassion, and Performance. Over the years, he has brought together like-minded people, developed high-powered business and technology teams, and started a SEW family (now 1000+ strong) that aims to connect billions of people with their energy and water providers.

The company has been recognized by INC 5000 and is one of the fastest growing companies in America. Deepak is an active contributor in the Forbes Technology Council. Deepak is also propelling the cleantech conversations with other utility and tech leaders with the WE3 platform. The thought leadership space brings perspectives from industry leaders on the key themes affecting the energy and water world to spark change and normalize innovation.

Deepak has received multiple industry recognitions such as EY Entrepreneurship of the Year, Best CEO Award, Innovator of the Year and more.