What Will Shape 2026?

• Corporate energy sovereignty: Large corporates are increasingly moving beyond power purchase agreements and into direct ownership or development of generation and storage assets. This shift is driven by the need for long-term price certainty, emissions control, and resilience against grid instability and geopolitical disruption. Energy is becoming a strategic input rather than a passive operating cost.
• Behind-the-meter energy markets and microgrids: Energy markets are decentralising as large users such as data centres, mines, ports, and industrial precincts begin trading power directly within local microgrids. These behind-the-meter arrangements reduce exposure to wholesale volatility, flatten peak demand, and ease pressure on transmission networks, accelerating the move toward modular energy systems.
• Energy-positive data centres with fuel synthesis co-location: Data centres are being redesigned as integrated energy assets rather than pure electricity loads. New facilities increasingly co-locate electrolysers and synthetic fuel systems, using excess power, curtailed renewables, and waste heat to produce hydrogen, methanol, or e-fuels on site. This improves asset utilisation while supporting grid stability.
• AI-discovered battery and energy materials: Artificial intelligence is now playing a direct role in materials discovery, identifying novel battery chemistries and energy materials that were not previously considered by human researchers. In 2025, several AI-discovered compounds are entering laboratory validation and early commercial assessment, accelerating innovation timelines across storage and grid technologies.
• Long-duration energy storage beyond lithium: As renewable penetration increases, the need for multi-day and seasonal storage is becoming critical. Technologies such as iron-air, sodium-ion, thermal sand batteries, and gravity-based systems are moving into first commercial deployments, offering lower-cost and more durable alternatives for grid-scale balancing.
• Industrial heat electrification: One of the fastest-growing yet least visible clean energy trends is the electrification of industrial heat. High-temperature electric heat pumps are increasingly replacing gas in food processing, chemicals, and manufacturing, delivering significant emissions reductions while improving energy efficiency and fuel security.
• Clean energy driven by resilience and reliability: The primary driver of clean energy adoption is shifting away from emissions targets alone toward reliability, affordability, and national security. Governments and industries are prioritising solutions that strengthen energy independence and grid resilience, accelerating deployment regardless of political cycles.