Why we need a ‘digital energy stack’ to tackle energy poverty

Energy is an existential priority for countries, and a literal catalyst for their economic and sustainable development. Energy access and security are geopolitical and geoeconomic imperatives - both as national security concerns, as well as powering the industries and opportunities of the future. Energy is also emerging as a component of comparative advantage in an interconnected global economy of international capital. In 2026, energy will continue to take centre stage in debates and deliberations around the world. Both electrons and hydrocarbon molecules. 

And, amid all of this: artificial intelligence. AI has a long tail of energy-hungry physical data centres and GPU racks, critical mineral mining, and real-world inference demanding unprecedented power supplies. A topic we’ve previously explored on Illuminem.

This year at Davos, Satya Nadella - CEO of Microsoft - set out the ‘arc of computation’. How our societies and economies have continually generated more data and insight - and how the private sector and governments have tried to keep pace with building tools and institutions to understand our world better. The tools and technologies we have in our hands now are unprecedented in potential. But so are the energy demands - which are growing exponentially every day. Few were talking about small modular nuclear reactors and outer-space data centres in earlier digital eras. But what does this mean for the future of countries, and communities?

We are in the thick of two seemingly separate but, in reality, interconnected and intertwined revolutions. The energy revolution - the need to keep the lights on, or even to turn them on in the first place for the 1.18 billion people who live in energy poverty. And the technology revolution, epitomised by the AI ‘race’. Where ChatGPT, the fastest-growing consumer application in history, has unleashed a global force of creative destruction. One which could see the rise of entirely new industries and opportunities - or entrench deep and unequal digital and innovation divides, and a new era of precariousness and fragmentation. And potentially even new forms of conflict.

This is no longer business-as-usual. Energy optimisation alone will not be enough. We need fundamentally new ways of thinking, working, and delivering in the context of these twin transitions. At the heart of this is how we grapple with the power and potential of technology, and harness this to drive an inclusive and just energy transition. Technology cannot be ad hoc, defined by pilots that do not scale, or use-cases disconnected from the energy needs, realities, and aspirations of people.  We need a coherent and strategic approach to leveraging digital and data to tackle energy poverty.

This importance and thinking has inspired our new initiative: the ’digital energy stack’. In the tech world, a ’stack’ is the collection of different technologies and components needed for a digital product or service to function. As you read this blog, it sits on a ’stack’ of solutions: a web browser or application on your phone or other device. Internet and email protocols that (hopefully!) are displaying the below graphic correctly. And, layers of cloud hosting, connectivity, and - of course - energy, to make all of this happen.

The ‘digital energy stack’ comprises seven digital components and considerations that countries need to engage with to maximise the benefits of the AI, digital, and energy revolutions. These seven elements are:

1. Data: the fuel of the energy revolution. From the Big Data generated by smart meters and other digital energy solutions to the ‘Lean’ and ‘Thick’ Data about energy exclusion that needs to inform service design and policymaking.

2. Connectivity: the wired and wireless infrastructure enabling data to flow between energy solutions and stakeholders – as well as providing opportunities for blended business models and collaborations between energy firms and connectivity providers (including Pay As You Go solar). 

3. Compute: becoming the ‘currency’ of the 21st century. This energy-intensive processing power that drives the AI era is creating both opportunities for improved energy planning and delivery, but also real challenges of energy and resource use.

4. Digital Public Infrastructure: the ‘roads and railways’ of our digital economies and societies, DPI could deepen the impact of digital energy solutions. From data exchange mechanisms to improve interoperability between digital energy solutions, through to digital payment infrastructure and digital ID solutions that can support energy inclusion.

5. Cybersecurity: energy has always been critical national infrastructure, and the threats it faces in the digital and AI era are only increasing. Digital energy initiatives need to be ‘resilient-by-design’, safeguarding their operation and data. Whilst countries and industries are also upskilling their energy professionals around cyber priorities.

6. AI: artificial intelligence is already having an impact. Including in improving energy infrastructure planning and by driving new approaches for credit-scoring that are making energy services available to more people. The ‘stack’ is about accelerating and deepening the role of AI in driving this energy inclusion.

7. Governance: the hardest part of embedding digital as a transformative force for energy is not about tech. It’s about people. How we shape the skills, expertise, processes, institutions, and organisational cultures – within and beyond government – to truly engage with the potential that digital offers for energy.

Countries are building and strengthening these digital energy assets. For some, these are questions of strategy or sovereignty. For other countries, they may be questions of survival in an increasingly complex, hyperconnected, and fast-moving world. 

The ‘stack’ is a collaborative effort, with no single sector or actor able to close the energy gap alone. And the private sector is an especially important partner for countries in this journey. Companies are building AI and technology stacks to accelerate their energy efforts - from improving infrastructure planning and rollout, to increasing their customer-bases. But the private sector can also leverage the central role of governments - and civil society - in the digital era. Countries such as India, for example, have built the digital public infrastructure that provides the foundation for millions of innovators and billions of transactions. 

The eventual success of the ’digital energy stack’ - and the broader digital and AI success of countries - will be defined by those settings able to unlock and empower the value-add, and unique tools and advantages, of the public and private sectors, and civil society. Much like the AI and energy revolutions, elements of the stack are also cumulative and interconnected - and reaffirm the importance of thinking about energy systems and not just ‘energy'. 

Importantly, there is also no single pathway to building the ’digital energy stack’. We need both Silicon Valley and the Silicon Savannah (and many more ’silicon’ spaces in between). The Global South is not just a ‘tech taker’, but a maker - and shaper - too. However, what is particularly exciting about these energy and technology revolutions is that they are both in constant and continuous flux. This time last year, the Chinese-built Deepseek-R1 large language model and chatbot sparked global interest - and some panic - amongst the AI community, as it took a new approach to lower-resource AI development. It was also another reminder that the Global South can carve important new pathways in these revolutions. Energy and digital innovation are advancing in every region of the world. An equivalent ‘Deepseek moment’ could emerge from any one of these settings this year.

Recognising this, we are very interested to hear the sector’s thoughts on what the ‘digital energy stack’ means to your work – and where you see countries making particular progress or perhaps encountering challenges.

Putting it into practice

The stack also highlights three aspects of sustainable energy that are especially fascinating about this sector.

First, energy is long synonymous with innovation. From the 1st to the 5th Industrial Revolutions, the energy sector has defined (and redefined) how innovation can transform lives and livelihoods, economies and societies, and communities and countries. And the ‘digital energy stack’ could provide the framing for how we shape 21st century industrial and development policy.

Second, energy is an essential – and literal – engine for sustainable development. It is an enabler of all the other 16 SDGs, and digital can turbocharge this importance. Innovations in the energy sector have also inspired new ways of thinking and delivering - Pay As You Go solar demonstrated the development potential of cross-sector collaborations, whilst AI is already having exciting impact in how energy products and services can become more inclusive.

Finally, the important achievements in the energy sector reaffirm that no country, context, or community has a monopoly on innovation. As the 16th Session of the IRENA Assembly highlighted last month, new energy ideas and approaches are having real impact all around the world. And the ‘digital energy stack’ can be an important platform for leveraging, and shaping, this global collective intelligence. 

We are very excited to continue to work with countries in implementing and embedding the digital energy stack. By working in the open, and sharing our emerging thinking, we also hope to invite other partners and collaborators to join us in shaping the future of sustainable energy – and the future of sustainable development. Get in touch.

illuminem Voices is a democratic space presenting the thoughts and opinions of leading Sustainability & Energy writers, their opinions do not necessarily represent those of illuminem.

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