Introductory Overview
The ADSW Advisory Committee Insights Report: Energy captures expert perspectives on the state of the global energy transition in 2025, at a time marked by accelerating technological progress alongside persistent structural and geopolitical challenges. The report reflects discussions held among senior leaders from industry, government, academia, and energy institutions, convened under the Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week framework and hosted by Masdar.
The analysis situates clean energy progress within a context of falling renewable costs, rapid innovation, and growing urgency to decarbonize, while acknowledging that momentum alone does not guarantee success. Trade tensions, political uncertainty, infrastructure constraints, and unresolved questions around emerging technologies continue to shape the pace and direction of change.
Purpose, Scope, and Analytical Framework
The purpose of the advisory committee session was to assess how key stakeholders are navigating the evolving clean energy landscape and to identify priority challenges and opportunities that will define progress over the coming decade. The geographic scope is global, with particular relevance to the Middle East, Europe, and major industrial economies. The sectoral scope spans electricity generation, grid infrastructure, fuels, digital systems, and carbon markets.
This report analyzes one of nine ADSW Advisory Committee meetings conducted in 2025. Each section of the report corresponds to a distinct theme affecting the energy transition and integrates first-hand observations and expert analysis shared during the session.
Optimizing Grids for Clean Energy
Despite the rapid expansion of renewable energy capacity worldwide, grid management was identified as a primary bottleneck. Committee members emphasized that legacy grid models are increasingly misaligned with modern energy systems characterized by variable and decentralized generation. Utilities are now required to manage rapid fluctuations in supply while maintaining stability and affordability.
Intermittency from wind and solar generation was highlighted as a core challenge. Examples were cited where excess renewable production during peak periods has driven electricity prices to zero or negative levels, forcing operators to curtail generation and effectively waste clean energy. This misalignment between supply and demand undermines both grid efficiency and project economics.
Energy storage was consistently framed as a critical solution. Advances in utility-scale batteries, molten salt storage, and modular systems were noted, alongside significant cost reductions for batteries between 2024 and 2025. Committee members stressed that while commercially competitive batteries are essential in the near term, long-term grid stability will require a portfolio of storage solutions capable of supporting large-scale renewable penetration.
Beyond storage, the committee emphasized the importance of demand-side management. Improved forecasting, real-time monitoring, and adaptive pricing mechanisms were identified as necessary tools to normalize demand and reduce curtailment. A more flexible infrastructure was presented as essential to balancing commercial viability with sustainability objectives.
Innovative approaches to absorbing excess generation were also discussed. The use of energy-intensive computing activities, such as cryptocurrency mining, was cited as an example of how surplus renewable energy can be monetized during periods of oversupply, despite broader concerns about the energy footprint of such activities.
What’s Powering Progress Beyond Wind and Solar?
While wind and solar dominate public discourse, the committee underscored the need for a diversified energy mix to achieve reliable decarbonization. Several technologies and pathways were examined for their evolving role.
Nuclear Energy
The future of nuclear power was described as uncertain and highly context-dependent. Some countries continue to expand nuclear capacity, while others pursue phase-outs despite the stability nuclear provides. The committee highlighted ongoing global construction activity and noted that Small Modular Reactors are gaining attention due to their flexibility, scalability, and reduced upfront requirements compared to traditional plants.
For developing economies and countries seeking to reduce reliance on coal and heavy fuel oil, SMRs were described as a potentially viable option, even as global consensus on their long-term role continues to evolve.
Waste-to-Energy
Waste-to-energy technologies were characterized as progressing slowly due to persistent cost pressures and relatively modest energy output. However, for regions where landfill carries high social and environmental costs, WTE remains an attractive municipal solution to extract value from waste streams.
Sustainable Fuels
Momentum was noted in the development of sustainable aviation fuels, maritime fuels, and cleaner land transport fuels. Increased policy support and targeted mechanisms were identified as drivers encouraging investment and deployment as part of broader emissions-reduction strategies.
Trade Tensions, Supply Risks, and the Case for Certainty
Global trade dynamics emerged as a growing source of risk for clean energy deployment. Recent tariff actions and retaliatory measures were cited as examples of how quickly supply chains can be disrupted. Key materials such as steel, critical minerals, and advanced components face tightening availability as market participants delay decisions amid uncertainty.
Grid-scale batteries were highlighted as particularly exposed, with tariffs significantly increasing costs and threatening further escalation. These pressures have contributed to slower project timelines, stalled developments, and withdrawn financing.
The committee emphasized that policy uncertainty imposes tangible costs across the energy system. Clear and consistent demand signals from governments were framed as essential to reinforcing private-sector confidence. In their absence, supply chain fragility and capital withdrawal become more likely.
Improving supply chain resilience and strengthening long-term partnerships were identified as necessary countermeasures. The committee also reinforced the importance of efficiency improvements, aligning with international goals to double energy efficiency as a cost-effective response to rising demand.
AI – An Evolving Role to Play
The role of artificial intelligence in the energy transition was discussed extensively, particularly the question of whether AI can ultimately offset the energy it consumes. Rapid growth in data centers was noted, with some facilities projected to consume energy equivalent to millions of households, alongside significant water requirements for cooling.
Despite these costs, committee members expressed confidence that AI’s efficiency gains could outweigh its resource demands. AI was described as increasingly essential for grid optimization, digital modeling, forecasting, and lifecycle management across energy infrastructure.
Electric vehicles were cited as a practical example of AI-enabled system integration. As EV adoption grows, aggregated vehicle batteries could function as distributed storage assets, though managing this complexity at scale will require advanced AI coordination.
AI-driven tools are already being deployed across forecasting, digital twin modeling, and asset management. The committee also noted emerging opportunities for circular systems, such as repurposing waste heat from data centers for district heating.
Carbon Markets – Signs of Life at Last
Recent international agreements on carbon markets were described as reviving interest in carbon pricing and trading mechanisms. Committee members stressed that carbon markets must be approached globally, with standardized and credible frameworks to avoid fragmentation and greenwashing.
While progress remains uneven, the emergence of a limited number of well-designed national systems was viewed as sufficient to restore momentum. Japan’s transition of its voluntary GX-ETS scheme into a compliance-based market was highlighted as a significant development, offering lessons for other regions.
Despite these advances, the committee emphasized that multinational coordination remains essential. Upcoming international climate forums were identified as critical opportunities to advance shared standards and unlock carbon markets’ potential to mobilize substantial climate finance.
Key Takeaways and Cross-Cutting Themes
Uncertainty was consistently identified as one of the most damaging forces affecting clean energy investment and deployment. Ambiguous policy signals, volatile trade conditions, and hesitant financing environments collectively slow progress at a time when acceleration is most needed.
The committee stressed the need for creative, system-level thinking. Flexible grids, AI-enabled demand management, improved storage, and broader participation by end users were presented as essential components of future energy systems.
Carbon markets were described as re-entering a phase of cautious optimism, provided that clarity, credibility, and international coordination continue to improve.
Efficiency improvements were emphasized as equally important as capacity expansion, offering lower-cost and faster pathways to emissions reduction by optimizing existing infrastructure.
Finally, resilience emerged as a strategic priority. Stakeholders were urged to assess vulnerabilities across supply chains, partnerships, and operations to better withstand geopolitical and market shocks.
Closing Synthesis
The report presents a nuanced picture of the clean energy transition in 2025: one defined by accelerating innovation and falling costs, but constrained by infrastructure limits, policy uncertainty, and global trade volatility. The insights underscore that sustained progress will depend not only on technological breakthroughs, but on coordinated policy signals, resilient systems, and long-term strategic alignment across sectors and regions.
