ADNOC, Masdar, and XRG brought together more than 100 leaders from the energy, technology, investment, and government sectors at the ENACT Majlis in Abu Dhabi. The event aimed to develop integrated solutions that combine energy and artificial intelligence (AI) to support global economic growth.
The meeting was hosted by Dr. Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, UAE Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology and ADNOC Managing Director and Group CEO. Participants discussed ways to ensure secure, accessible, and sustainable energy supplies that can meet growing demand from both AI technologies and a rising global population.
A key topic was the projected increase in electricity demand for data centers, which is expected to rise from 105 gigawatts (GW) to 450 GW by 2040. In addition, urbanization will see 1.5 billion people move into cities over the next 15 years, leading to increased use of electric-powered air conditioners and a doubling of the global airline fleet from 25,000 to 50,000 planes. A White Paper summarizing these findings will be published later.
Dr. Al Jaber stated: “Energy and AI are the twin engines that have the potential to turbo-charge socioeconomic growth, but energy intensive data centers are competing for energy alongside multiple demand drivers in an increasingly complex world. The sheer scale of the demand requires investment, at scale, today, because the future won’t wait for us to catch up. And if we are going to meet the needs of data centers, along with everything else, we are going to need energy, tech and investment sectors working together with governments.
“On energy, we need an and-and approach with reliable baseload energy key. Infrastructure needs to be modernized and there needs to be more of it. You can’t run tomorrow’s economy on yesterday’s grid. Furthermore, regulations must incentivize, not inhibit investment and we need to invest in an AI enabled workforce. ENACT was created precisely for moments like these. Moments when complex challenges require collaborative solutions across sectors and borders.”
This event marks the third ENACT Majlis held so far; previous meetings focused on connecting developments across energy policy, technology innovation—including surging AI-driven demand—and finance globally as well as specifically addressing data center expansion in major economies such as the United States.
The most recent gathering followed a joint report by ADNOC and Microsoft titled “Powering Possible: Unleashing AI for Energy and Energy for AI,” which examines how advances in AI can drive improvements within the energy sector while also considering how reliable power supply is critical for scaling AI applications.
Held under Chatham House rules—ensuring open dialogue without public attribution—the ENACT Majlis reflects Abu Dhabi’s commitment to shaping discussions around future challenges in energy supply chains as well as technology investment strategies ahead of ADIPEC (Abu Dhabi International Petroleum Exhibition & Conference), one of the world’s largest industry events scheduled from November 3-6.
Attendees included senior government officials such as Suhail Mohamed Al Mazrouei (UAE Minister of Energy), Doug Burgum (U.S. Secretary of Interior), Jurabek Mirzamahmudov (Uzbekistan Minister of Energy), Omar Sultan Al Olama (UAE Minister for AI), Abdulla Al Jarwan (Chairman of Abu Dhabi Department of Energy), alongside executives from major international corporations including Microsoft Corporation Vice Chair Brad Smith; ExxonMobil Chair Darren Woods; bp CEO Murray Auchincloss; TotalEnergies Chairman Patrick Pouyanné; Brookfield Asset Management CEO Bruce Flatt; Mistral AI Co-founder Arthur Mensch; Eni CEO Claudio Descalzi; Korea National Oil Corporation President Dong Sub Kim; Wood Mackenzie CEO Jason Liu; Gecko Robotics Co-Founder Jake Loosararian; OXY International President Ken Dillon; INPEX President Takayuki Ueda; Moelis Vice Chairman Eric Cantor; Cerebras Systems CEO Andrew Feldman; United Bank for Africa Chairperson Tony O. Elumelu.
