Global energy transition digital spend outlook

ADI assessed a global energy transition capital spend and outlook through 2050, identifying the addressable market for digital technologies. The study analyzed how the shift toward fragmented, low-carbon infrastructure will impact the need for digital integration across intermittent renewables and energy storage systems. Modeling surfaced critical factors that will dictate the pace of digital adoption.

The client

Global cloud and technology provider

The situation

Ambiguity in sizing the digital transformation opportunity across multiple energy transition futures and emerging technology segments.

ADI’s contributions

Contribution icon 1

Global capex scenario modeling

ADI modeled three distinct energy futures—BAU, Rapid, and Net-Zero—to project capital shifts from fossil fuels to electrification.

Contribution icon 2

Segment digital spend analysis

Digital spend was forecast across 15 energy segments, identifying power and utilities as the primary growth engine through 2050.

Contribution icon 3

Green premium benchmarking

The research quantified the cost parity challenges for CCUS and hydrogen, correlating these to the required digital optimization spend.

Contribution icon 4

Infrastructure criticality assessment

ADI ranked the infrastructure limitations of EVs, DAC, and grid resilience to identify where digital twins offer the highest value.

Key outcomes

  • Quantified digital spend forecasts by sector, enabling the client to prioritize cloud service investments in high-growth ET segments.
Client Results
ADI brings a senior level of technical expertise and deep industry contacts. They performed a technical feasibility study for our gas-to-liquids project that added actual value and helped us move toward commercialization faster than we could have on our own.
Riley Hagan CEO, Ethanext

Industry experience

AI-enabled seismic interpretation market study

ADI evaluated the total addressable market and outlook over a 10-year period for AI-driven seismic interpretation amidst a shrinking G&G user pool. The study addressed factors impacting the adoption of OSDU and cloud migration among NOCs, majors, and independent operators. Analysis centered on evaluating the trade-off between model-centric and expert-based AI, and geoscientists’ preference globally. […]

Read now

Connected plant services strategy assessment

ADI performed a strategic assessment of Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) adoption within the U.S. gas processing sector to estimate addressable market over a 10-year period. The work mapped critical digital capabilities including cloud mobility, big data analytics, and augmented reality / virtual reality (AR/VR) training against the immediate operational needs of midstream reliability engineers. […]

Read now

Digital offerings strategy for gas processing

ADI evaluated the total addressable market and outlook over a 10-year period for digital solutions for gas processing. The analysis highlighted a strategic preference for back-office digitalization over field operations, driven by a lack of commercial readiness for wearables and high capex barriers for IoT. ADI mapped these adoption hurdles against process automation partnerships to […]

Read now

Enterprise performance management software strategy

ADI evaluated the addressable market in the U.S. for enterprise performance management software used to track stream volumes, mass, and composition in midstream systems. The assessment analyzed the shift toward software-as-a-service (SaaS) models and the technical requirements for connectivity with ERP and ETRM/CTRM platforms. This study surfaced the competitive constraints posed by in-house spreadsheet programs […]

Read now

Reservoir simulation software growth strategy

This strategic planning support assessed a global reservoir simulation market and outlook over a 10-year period. ADI examined the commoditization of black oil simulators and the competitive pressure from GPU-based cloud computing and data analytics alternatives. The work surfaced critical trade-offs between physics-based accuracy and the speed required by a shrinking reservoir engineering workforce. The […]

Read now

U.S. upstream oil and gas production IoT market

ADI evaluated the adoption of predictive analytics and IIoT offerings among independent North American operators. The research identified factors impacting adoption and growth and critical solutions to drive adoption in high-producing assets. The client Venture capital firm The situation Need to discern between re-branded automation products and differentiated, value-added IIoT offerings for investment. ADI’s contributions […]

Read now

More insights

Browse all insights
ADI Newsletter banner
News Icon News

Utility capital projects & 2026 energy trends

Utility capital projects are facing mounting delays and cost pressures in 2026, even as AI-driven demand fuels record capex. Meanwhile, the upstream oil and gas market is stabilizing around a normalizing shale cost curve, bulk liquid storage operators are shifting toward capability-driven growth, and the energy transition is exposing critical minerals bottlenecks that are pushing […]

Read now
Article Icon Article

U.S. refining capacity is gradually consolidating into larger, more complex facilities

U.S. refining capacity shows limited overall growth, but the structure of the system is shifting. Expansions at large, complex refineries are driving changes on the supply side, while smaller plants face cost and operational constraints that are forcing exits. This is steadily concentrating capacity in fewer, more sophisticated facilities. Key drivers capacity consolidation: Geographic concentration […]

Read now
Browse all insights