As Big Tech pushes forward with new data centres, there is a growing need for reliable, clean power. Geothermal has emerged as a solution, enabled by next generation energy technologies which are unlocking new geographies.

Delivery of these technologies looks familiar – much of the physical build-out of new geothermal systems relies on traditional oil and gas expertise and equipment. Some oil and gas wells may be repurposed, and new wells will lean on previous learnings.

The opportunity is significant; investment in geothermal projects is forecast to reach $2.5tn by 2050, and geothermal could offer a cleaner pivot for traditional hydrocarbon infrastructure. However, questions remain around risk-sharing and delivery timelines.

Drilling down into the detail is Florent Rousset, vice president of new energy at Baker Hughes.

Eve Thomas, associate editor of GlobalData’s energy titles, is the host and producer of this episode.

Find more news and strategic insights into all things energy on Power Technology, Offshore Technology and Mining Technology, all free to access. For quick daily updates, make sure to subscribe to our newsletters.

(00:00) Intro

(01:57) Geothermal for data centre power demand

(02:32) Oil and gas’ opportunity

(03:12) Infrastructure and know-how carry over

(04:06) Translating unconventional experience

(04:42) Repurposing technology for geothermal

(05:48) Challenges for geothermal compared to oil and gas

(06:47) Repurposing vs drilling new wells

(07:37) Planning for geology

(08:30) Risk-sharing with hyperscalers

(09:23) Timeline for delivering power

(10:00) Outro

Most global transport and heavy industry still rely on fossil fuels; for these hard-to-abate sectors, decarbonisation hinges on the development of low-carbon alternatives.

Green hydrogen, ethanol and synthetic fuels are seeing some limited adoption, but cost-competitiveness and scalability remain challenging. Across the solar, wind and tidal sectors, researchers are working to push the needle towards commercial viability.

Discussing the work that could shape the future of low-carbon fuel alternatives are four researchers and experts: Maren Cordts, co-founder of photreon; Motiar Rahaman, assistant professor at the University of Liège; Catrin Garrett, energy systems engineer at EMEC and Alessandro Giampieri, research associate at Durham Energy Institute.

For more on low-carbon fuels, check out last week’s episode from Gastech.

Eve Thomas, associate editor of GlobalData’s energy titles, is the host and producer of this episode.

Find more news and strategic insights into all things energy on Power Technology, Offshore Technology and Mining Technology, all free to access. For quick daily updates, make sure to subscribe to our newsletters.

(00:00) Intro

(01:01) photreon’s photoreactor panels

(01:59) Tackling scalability

(02:58) Artificial leaves

(04:03) Targeting ethanol

(04:49) The speed of progress

(06:20) Trends in tidal for fuel production

(07:44) Challenges in tidal power

(08:34) Vanadium batteries in tidal

(10:07) Tidal for SAF

(11:10) Offshore wind for onshore electrolysis

(11:45) Producing hydrogen onsite offshore

(12:49) Transporting offshore hydrogen to shote

(15:05) The curtailment opportunity

(16:27) Outro

Gastech 2026, hosted in Bangkok, Thailand, brought together tens of thousands of energy professionals from more than 150 countries to discuss some of the biggest problems and solutions shaping the industry.

At the event, we spoke to experts from across the industry value chain to get their views on some of the key themes running through this year’s agenda, including geopolitics and energy security, gas's role as a transition fuel and beyond, unlocking future fuel markets and how AI is transforming offshore operations.

This episode features insights from Honeywell Technologies’ president of projects & automation solutions, Russ Ford, Wood’s COO for projects, Nick Shorten, and APAC regional president, John Mtanios, Armstrong Fluid Technology Industrial’s global product manager, Divyanshu Shrivastava, Trelleborg Marine & Infrastructure’s gas transfer specialist, Matthew Richardson, and SmartSea’s CEO, Kris Vedat.

⁠Jackie Park⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, editor-in-chief of GlobalData's energy titles, is the host of this episode.

Find more news and strategic insights into all things energy on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Offshore Technology⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Power Technology⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠⁠Mining Technology⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠all free to access. For quick daily updates, make sure to subscribe to our newsletters.

(00:00) Intro

(00:35) Geopolitics and energy security

(01:50) Gas beyond a transition fuel

(03:39) Who should pay to decarbonise gas?

(05:41) Making gas fit for the future

(06:29) Unlocking future fuels

(09:17) AI to scale alternative fuels

(10:13) AI’s unique offering offshore

(11:20) What the digital future needs

Platinum has traditionally been associated with catalytic converters, which reduce harmful emissions from internal combustion engine vehicles. But as global vehicle fleets electrify, the platinum industry is looking for sources of demand beyond the automotive market.

Hydrogen offers one potential answer. Platinum is used in proton-exchange membrane, or PEM, fuel cells and electrolysers, where it helps drive the chemical reactions that produce electricity or hydrogen. These technologies could be especially important in heavy-duty transport and industrial processes, such as steelmaking, where direct electrification is more difficult.

However, hydrogen remains a relatively small source of platinum demand today. Its future impact depends on whether hydrogen infrastructure can be deployed at scale, whether project developers can secure demand and financing, and how quickly manufacturers reduce the amount of platinum used in each fuel cell or electrolyser.

We speak with Edward Sterck, Director of Research at the World Platinum Investment Council; Una O’Hara, a researcher specialising in hydrogen storage and platinum-based technologies; and Sai Dheeraj Karanam, Mining Analyst at GlobalData, about the role platinum plays in hydrogen technology, the trade-off between lower catalyst loadings and faster deployment, and the ability of a concentrated mining industry to respond to rising demand.

Alejandro Gonzalez, mining editor at GlobalData, is the host of this episode of Energy Technology: Industry Insights.

Find more news and strategic insights into all things energy on Power Technology, Offshore Technology, and Mining Technology, all free to access. For quick daily updates, make sure to subscribe to our newsletters.

[00:01] Intro
[01:40] The demand challenge
[03:50] Platinum for hydrogen
[06:20] The problem with scaling hydrogen
[07:45] More hydrogen, less platinum
[09:35] Mining industry response
[10:40] Can hydrogen become a major platinum market?
[12:05] Ends

Reports: Europe Hydrogen Market Report – 2026 (GlobalData)

Solar farms are getting bigger every year, and with them, so are the challenges of design, construction and maintenance. Drones are flying to the rescue to lower costs, improve safety and optimise output. Today, drones are being deployed across the full solar lifecycle, from site surveying and construction monitoring to post-commissioning O&M.

In this episode, we explore how drones can deliver the most value for the industry. Joining us to share their insights are Suneil Sastri, VP of product management at Zeitview, Joshua Baum, commercial lead at Percepto, and Rehaan Shiledar, senior power industry analyst at GlobalData.

We discuss drone use cases across the value chain, BVLOS regulations, Drone-in-a-Box and AI potential, and where the industry’s heading.

⁠Jackie Park⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, editor-in-chief of GlobalData's energy titles, is the host and producer of this episode.

Find more news and strategic insights into all things energy on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Offshore Technology⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Power Technology⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠Mining Technology⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠all free to access. For quick daily updates, make sure to subscribe to our newsletters.

(00:00) Intro

(01:08) How drones are used across the value chain

(02:46) Where can drones most and least help?

(06:07) Navigating BVLOS operations

(09:17) Drone-in-a-Box: achieving full autonomy

(10:54) AI and the software-first evolution

(13:24) The next frontier

Resources from this episode:

• GlobalData’s 2025 Drones: Strategic Intelligence report
• GlobalData’s 2025 Future of Work in Power report

The Democratic Republic of Congo is seeking greater access to historical geological records held in Belgium as the country looks to exert greater control over the information underpinning its mineral wealth.

The involvement of US mining company KoBold Metals has added a new dimension to the debate, bringing geological archives into the wider discussion around digital exploration and critical minerals.

But how valuable is geological information collected decades ago?

We speak with Junior Nsimba Badila, Klaus Eckhof and Russell Menezes, CEO of RadiXplor, about resource sovereignty, China's longstanding presence in the DRC, historical exploration data, and the technologies being developed to make vast archives of geological information searchable and usable.

The discussion moves beyond the DRC to consider whether AI can change the economics of exploration by allowing geologists to interrogate millions of pages of historical information in a fraction of the time.

Alejandro Gonzalez, editor of Mining Technology and MINE magazine, is the host of this episode of Energy Technology: Industry Insights.

Find more news and strategic insights into all things energy on Power Technology, Offshore Technology and Mining Technology, all free to access. For quick daily updates, make sure to subscribe to our newsletters.

(00:01) Intro

(02:14) Why the DRC wants access

(03:10) Making use of historical record: the challenge

(04:02) Digitalisation and AI driven geological research

(07:20) A new kid on the block: critical minerals

(08:30) Who will drive this effort?

(12:40) Ends

Offshore oil and gas electrification has proven benefits including lower operational costs and emissions reductions. However, global uptake has remained low and, outside of Norway, most platforms still rely on fossil power.

Potential decarbonisation wins have been overshadowed by rising infrastructure costs and long connectivity timelines, but the burgeoning offshore renewables sector could bolster the oil and gas industry’s economic incentive to electrify.

Unpacking why upstream electrification has stalled are four expert guests: Dr Maurizio Bragagni, chairman and CEO of cable manufacturer Tratos, Said Addi, previously the global lead of crude and fuel oil trading at E3 Energy Group, Thomas Manuel Ortiz, former senior technical advisor for energy issues at Texas General Land Office, and Mo Razzaq, oil and gas analyst at GlobalData.

Eve Thomas, editor of Offshore Technology, is the host and producer of this episode. 

Find more news and strategic insights into all things energy on Power Technology, Offshore Technology and Mining Technology, all free to access. For quick daily updates, make sure to subscribe to our newsletters.

(00:00) Intro

(01:19) Why most rigs are fossil powered

(03:18) Assessing electrification economics

(04:24) Grid connection constraints

(04:58) Advantages of offshore electrification

(05:53) Do emissions affect barrel price?

(06:50) Decarbonisation is not a fix-all

(09:19) Why Norway leads

(10:47) Offshore wind for power

(12:10) Renewables could improve investment value

(13:36) What is needed to support electrification

AI represents a huge opportunity for the grid sector facing a rapidly changing load landscape. However, for the historically conservative and risk-averse industry, trustworthiness remains a hurdle to mass implementation.

Fragmented network data is another challenge – at the same time, it could represent an opportunity for AI to work around the flaws.

In this episode, we gather insights directly from three leading grid management tech providers: Ralf Blumenthal, SVP Europe at Siemens Grid Software, Linda-Maria Wadman, Chief Commercial Officer at Plexigrid, and Talal Eskandar, Executive Managing Director at Reactive Technologies. They explain the role AI plays in their technologies and what the industry could expect ahead.

We’re also joined by Rehaan Shiledar, senior power industry analyst and author of GlobalData’s 2026 Smart Grids report, to discuss the risks and rewards AI can bring to smart grids.

⁠Jackie Park⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, editor-in-chief of GlobalData's energy titles, is the host and producer of this episode.

Find more news and strategic insights into all things energy on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Offshore Technology⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Power Technology⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and ⁠Mining Technology⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠all free to access. For quick daily updates, make sure to subscribe to our newsletters.

(00:00) Intro

(00:48) Overview: AI in smart grids

(02:20) How grid tech providers are integrating AI

(05:23) Fragmented data: AI’s opportunity and challenge

(08:36) Building trust in AI

(10:05) Calls for action

Resources from this episode:

• GlobalData’s 2026 Smart Grid: Strategic Intelligence report, authored by Rehaan Shiledar