"Energy security, environmental resilience, deglobalization: in the era of three global transitions, what future lies ahead?". This was the central question of the panel held in the stunning setting of the Terrazza Belvedere in Camogli, as part of the Festival of Communication.
Moderated by Andrea Goldstein, economist at Il Sole 24 Ore, the discussion featured Luigi Ferraris, a senior executive with long-standing experience in the infrastructure and energy sectors, and Carlo Luzzatto, CEO of RINA, in a dialogue on the profound transformations reshaping today's global economic and industrial landscape.
On the sidelines of the event, Luigi Ferraris commented on the current energy landscape in Europe, addressing key challenges in the sector and highlighting the opportunities offered by Artificial Intelligence to strengthen security and foster innovation.

The transcript of the interview is available below:

"We live in a world undergoing rapid and profound change. The global population continues to grow, with the exception of our own country and Europe as a whole, which are instead facing demographic aging. As a result, the demand for energy and primary resources is steadily increasing. To put it in perspective, while renewable capacity has significantly increased over the past ten to fifteen years, their share of total global energy production remains at around 20% today, as overall demand has grown just as rapidly.

That said, in order to remain competitive and close the price gap we face, we must strengthen our ability to plan with a medium- to long-term horizon. Investment will certainly be required not only in new generation capacity but also in networks. Networks are critical because, in a world moving toward greater reliance on renewables, it becomes increasingly essential to have transmission and distribution systems that are extensive and interconnected. The expansion of renewable energy must therefore be matched by the growth of resilient networks. This, of course, presupposes political stability, a long-term vision, and the financial resources needed to sustain such investments.

Artificial intelligence will undoubtedly play a key role. First, in the development of renewables. Consumers are increasingly becoming producers of energy, the so-called "prosumers." As the number of millions of such producers grows, feeding electricity back into the grid, it will be vital to model, simulate, and predict their behavior in order to mitigate risks such as blackouts. AI can provide powerful support in developing the models required to achieve this.

Another crucial element is the shift enabled by AI from static, historical statistics to real-time projections. This gives us immediate visibility into the status of critical infrastructure and allows for timely corrective action, particularly within a predictive maintenance framework. Increasingly, it will be essential to digitalize infrastructure and create so-called digital twins—whether in power networks, road systems, or railway infrastructure. These digital representations, powered by AI, will enable us to design ever more sophisticated and robust predictive maintenance strategies, strengthening both resilience and reliability."