SUMMIT AGENDA 2026

DAY1

Day 1 Morning: AI and Market Innovation: Driving APAC’s Energy Future

08:00 - 09:00 (60 mins)

Registration

09:00 - 09:10 (10 mins)

Opening Welcome by Conference Chair

09:10 - 09:25 (15 mins)

[Opening Keynote] How will Australia/APAC Secure the Transition with Power Supply and AI Growth?

09:25 - 09:55 (30 mins)

[Insights] AI-Energy Landscape 2030: Cross-Border Models for Digital Infrastructures

09:55 - 10:10 (15 mins)

[Keynote] Powering Australia with Intelligence: AI for Clean, Resilient Energy Systems

10:10 - 10:50

(40 min)

[C-Suite Visionaries] Global AI–Energy Landscape: From Compute Power to Energy Transformation

How the rapid growth of compute demand is reshaping national energy systems and the power grid
Energy Consumption, Infrastructure Siting, Carbon Footprint, and Future Regulatory Frameworks in the Era of Large AI Models
Full-Sector Applications of GenAI, AI Agents, and Digital Twins Across Oil & Gas, Power Grids, and Renewable Energy

Kevin Lin
Chief Information Officer
Stanwell Corporation Limited (Reserved)

Jim Bullock
Managing Director, Power Utilities & Energy Transition, Asia
Microsoft (Reserved)

Luke Anderson
Managing Director, Data & AI, Asia Pacific & Japan
Amazon Web Services (AWS)

Colette Munro
Pacific Zone President
Schneider Electric

Coffee Break (40 mins)

11:30 - 12:20

(50 min)

[Panel] AI-driven Power Market and Energy Security: Opportunities, Challenges, and Emerging Participants

How AI and digitalization are changing the electricity market and creating new opportunities and challenges
The evolving dynamics of power systems and considerations for adapting to emerging technologies
Maintaining secure and reliable market operations in a rapidly digitalizing environment
How new players—data centers, storage, and virtual power plants—can participate and shape AI-driven markets

Senior Representative
Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water

Luncheon

Day 1 Afternoon: AI and Energy Integration for Next-Generation Systems and Collaboration

14:00 - 14:50 (50 mins)

[Panel] Powering the Hyperscale Age: Integrated Data Centre Solutions

Rising energy demand and infrastructure pressure in the compute-intensive era
Integrated renewable-plus-storage energy supply solutions
Energy cost, clean electricity availability, and long-term supply certainty

Nishi Vissamraju
Head of Sustainability
NexTDC

Vinit Chitkara
Director, APAC Energy Operations and CleanTech
Equinix (Reserved)

Rik Irons-Mclean
Sector Lead Manufacturing and Energy, and Enterprise CTO
Microsoft ANZ

Andrew Sjoquist
Founder & CEO
WinDC

14:50 - 15:10 (20 mins)

Reserved for Sponsor - Data Centre & Renewable Integration

15:10 - 15:30 (20 mins)

Case studies：Tech Giants’ Strategies - Hyperscale Digital Infrastructure

Coffee Break (30 mins)

16:00 - 16:50 (50 mins)

[Panel] Adaptive Smart Grids at System Scale: AI-Driven Intelligence, Flexibility and Resilience

Improving load forecasting and renewable generation forecasting accuracy
Using AI to optimise DER integration and renewable energy uptake
Enhancing grid resilience and reliability to handle faults and unexpected events
Standardised data interfaces and data-sharing frameworks

Luke Jenner
Chief Assets and Digital Officer
Essential Energy

Ravi Kumar Mandalika
APAC Energy & Utilities Industry Leader
IBM Consulting

16:50 - 17:10 (20 mins)

Reserved for Sponsor - AI for Grid Forecasting – Technical Deep Dive

17:10 - 18:00 (50 mins)

[Panel] Building AI–Energy Integrated Systems and New Cross-Industry Investment Models in APAC

Joint investment models between the AI industry and the energy sector
Policy and investment environment differences across APAC
How capital captures opportunities from “compute-driven energy demand”

18:30 - 19:30 (60 mins)

Cocktail Party

Day 2 Morning: Driving Energy Project Excellence: AI and Digital Innovation in Operations

08:30 - 09:00 (30 mins)

Registration

09:00 - 09:10 (10 mins)

Opening Welcome by Conference Chair

09:10 - 10:00 (50 mins)

[Panel] Redefining Energy Operations in APAC: AI, Digitalisation, and Sustainable Innovation

Addressing challenges in scaling AI and digital tools across investments, assets, and regions.
Balancing digital transformation with long-term strategic and low-carbon goals.
Using digital tools to enhance demand forecasting, customer engagement, and flexible energy supply.
Examining innovation strategies to drive sustainable business models and next-generation energy solutions.

Sumone Chakravarti
Executive General Manager, Consumer and Innovation
SEC Victoria (Reserved)

10:00 - 10:20 (20 mins)

Reserved for Sponsor - AI for Measurement & Monitoring

10:20 - 10:40 (20 mins)

Reserved for Sponsor

Coffee Break (40 mins)

11:20 - 12:10

(50 mins)

[Panel] Next Gen Intelligent Energy Assets: Optimising Efficiency, Performance and Resilience

Embedding AI as the intelligence layer to transform traditional energy assets into adaptive, self-optimising systems.
Integrating digital twins with real-time data to build dynamic, interconnected asset ecosystems.
Leveraging predictive analytics and optimisation algorithms to enhance performance, reduce downtime, and improve energy efficiency.
Using AI-powered scenario modelling to strengthen risk management, safety standards, and long-term system resilience.

Emma Eltringham
Principal AI Product Manager
Woodside Energy

12:10 - 12:30

(20 mins)

Case studies: AI for Energy Transition in Heavy Industries

Luncheon

Day 2 Afternoon: Shaping the Energy Transition: Governance, Carbon, and Organizational Innovation

14:00 - 14:50 (50 mins)

[Panel] Scaling Enterprise AI in Energy Beyond Legacy Systems and Silos

Building robust AI governance frameworks that align organisational strategy with risk, compliance and value realisation.
Integrating historical and legacy systems through effective data migration, cleaning and architecture to enable enterprise AI at scale.
Moving beyond isolated pilots by standardising AI platforms, MLOps capabilities and cross-department collaboration.
Commercialising AI by defining measurable value metrics, realising ROI and embedding AI into core business processes rather than one-off projects.

14:50 - 15:10 (20 mins)

Reserved for Sponsor

Coffee Break (30 mins)

15:40 - 16:00 (20 mins)

Reserved for Sponsor

16:00 - 16:40 (40 mins)

[Panel] Governance, Trust and Social Acceptance in the AI-Driven Energy Transition

AI, Energy and Cybersecurity: Protecting Critical Infrastructure
Ensuring explainability, fairness, and regulatory alignment of AI applied in energy systems
Data responsibility and privacy protection
Social acceptance and community engagement
Ethics, accountability, and governance frameworks

Lee Hickin
Executive Director
National AI Centre, DISR, Australian Government

16:40 - 17:20 (40 mins)

[Panel] From Processes to People: Leading the Energy Transition with Digital Innovation

Workforce reskilling and capability development for the energy transition
Shifting decision-making from “process-driven” to “data-driven”
Enhancing frontline worker efficiency and safety

Belinda Dennett
Chief Executive Officer
Data Centres Australia

19:00 - 21:00

(180 mins)

SUMMIT AGENDA 2026

Day 1 Morning: AI and Market Innovation: Driving APAC’s Energy Future

Registration

Opening Welcome by Conference Chair

[Opening Keynote] How will Australia/APAC Secure the Transition with Power Supply and AI Growth?

[Insights] AI-Energy Landscape 2030: Cross-Border Models for Digital Infrastructures

[Keynote] Powering Australia with Intelligence: AI for Clean, Resilient Energy Systems

[C-Suite Visionaries] Global AI–Energy Landscape: From Compute Power to Energy Transformation

How the rapid growth of compute demand is reshaping national energy systems and the power grid

Energy Consumption, Infrastructure Siting, Carbon Footprint, and Future Regulatory Frameworks in the Era of Large AI Models

Full-Sector Applications of GenAI, AI Agents, and Digital Twins Across Oil & Gas, Power Grids, and Renewable Energy

Kevin Lin Chief Information Officer Stanwell Corporation Limited (Reserved)

Jim Bullock Managing Director, Power Utilities & Energy Transition, Asia Microsoft (Reserved)

Luke Anderson Managing Director, Data & AI, Asia Pacific & Japan Amazon Web Services (AWS)

Colette Munro Pacific Zone President Schneider Electric

Coffee Break (40 mins)

[Panel] AI-driven Power Market and Energy Security: Opportunities, Challenges, and Emerging Participants

How AI and digitalization are changing the electricity market and creating new opportunities and challenges

The evolving dynamics of power systems and considerations for adapting to emerging technologies

Maintaining secure and reliable market operations in a rapidly digitalizing environment

How new players—data centers, storage, and virtual power plants—can participate and shape AI-driven markets

Senior Representative Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water

Luncheon

Day 1 Afternoon: AI and Energy Integration for Next-Generation Systems and Collaboration

[Panel] Powering the Hyperscale Age: Integrated Data Centre Solutions

Rising energy demand and infrastructure pressure in the compute-intensive era

Integrated renewable-plus-storage energy supply solutions

Energy cost, clean electricity availability, and long-term supply certainty

Nishi Vissamraju Head of Sustainability NexTDC

Vinit Chitkara Director, APAC Energy Operations and CleanTech Equinix (Reserved)

Rik Irons-Mclean Sector Lead Manufacturing and Energy, and Enterprise CTO Microsoft ANZ

Andrew Sjoquist Founder & CEO WinDC

​Reserved for Sponsor - Data Centre & Renewable Integration

Case studies：Tech Giants’ Strategies - Hyperscale Digital Infrastructure

Coffee Break (30 mins)

[Panel] Adaptive Smart Grids at System Scale: AI-Driven Intelligence, Flexibility and Resilience

Improving load forecasting and renewable generation forecasting accuracy

Using AI to optimise DER integration and renewable energy uptake

Enhancing grid resilience and reliability to handle faults and unexpected events

Standardised data interfaces and data-sharing frameworks

Luke Jenner Chief Assets and Digital Officer Essential Energy

Ravi Kumar Mandalika APAC Energy & Utilities Industry Leader IBM Consulting

Reserved for Sponsor - AI for Grid Forecasting – Technical Deep Dive

[Panel] Building AI–Energy Integrated Systems and New Cross-Industry Investment Models in APAC

Joint investment models between the AI industry and the energy sector

Policy and investment environment differences across APAC

How capital captures opportunities from “compute-driven energy demand”​

Cocktail Party

Sumone Chakravarti Executive General Manager, Consumer and Innovation SEC Victoria (Reserved)

Emma Eltringham Principal AI Product Manager Woodside Energy

Lee Hickin Executive Director National AI Centre, DISR, Australian Government

Belinda Dennett Chief Executive Officer Data Centres Australia

7-8 July 2026 MCEC, Melbourne #AIETA2026

Proud Member of

Kevin Lin
Chief Information Officer
Stanwell Corporation Limited (Reserved)

Jim Bullock
Managing Director, Power Utilities & Energy Transition, Asia
Microsoft (Reserved)

Luke Anderson
Managing Director, Data & AI, Asia Pacific & Japan
Amazon Web Services (AWS)

Colette Munro
Pacific Zone President
Schneider Electric

Senior Representative
Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water

Nishi Vissamraju
Head of Sustainability
NexTDC

Vinit Chitkara
Director, APAC Energy Operations and CleanTech
Equinix (Reserved)

Rik Irons-Mclean
Sector Lead Manufacturing and Energy, and Enterprise CTO
Microsoft ANZ

Andrew Sjoquist
Founder & CEO
WinDC

Reserved for Sponsor - Data Centre & Renewable Integration

Luke Jenner
Chief Assets and Digital Officer
Essential Energy

Ravi Kumar Mandalika
APAC Energy & Utilities Industry Leader
IBM Consulting

How capital captures opportunities from “compute-driven energy demand”

Sumone Chakravarti
Executive General Manager, Consumer and Innovation
SEC Victoria (Reserved)

Emma Eltringham
Principal AI Product Manager
Woodside Energy

Lee Hickin
Executive Director
National AI Centre, DISR, Australian Government

Belinda Dennett
Chief Executive Officer
Data Centres Australia

7-8 July 2026
MCEC, Melbourne
#AIETA2026