Davos is known for a few things: its stunning alpine terrain, world-class ski slopes, proximity to St. Moritz, and the legendary Snow Polo World Cup. Yet, it is most recognized for hosting the World Economic Forum (WEF) Annual Conference.
This annual event, held in Europe’s highest-altitude city, brings together governments, business leaders, and technology pioneers under one relatively small roof. It attracts a global audience focused on shaping the economy through business, policy, and innovation.
I had the fortune of attending the World Economic Forum through my affiliation with, and leadership in, the Global Shapers Community. The Global Shapers Community selects, invites, and sponsors 50 young leaders to attend the WEF each year as part of a delegation known as the Davos50.
Each year, the Forum focuses on a specific theme. This year’s theme, “Collaboration in the Age of AI,” emphasized the importance of partnerships across industries. Naturally, the energy sector—and its subfield, energy tech—fit seamlessly into this discussion.
The conference featured several official sessions dedicated to energy, along with a broad array of side events and other engagements on the same topic. I had the privilege of attending many of these as part of the Davos50 delegation.
While artificial intelligence (AI) stole much of the spotlight, its relevance to and relationship with the energy industry remained a focal point for venture capitalists and other technology investors.
Some key energy tech topics included AI’s intersection with climate tech, the energy efficiency of data centers, fusion energy, and notably, grid-enhancing and supporting technologies. A notable addition to this ensemble, as discussed in many rooms within the conference, was youth participation in shaping energy policy. The youth, as documented with ample evidence, is far more likely to act in favour of the adoption of novel solutions. Europe needs to act faster.
During a lunch event focused on the renewable energy transition, it became clear—especially in discussions with leaders such as Christopher C. Womack, President of Southern Company, and Ian Edwards, CEO of Atkins—that grid-related challenges will only grow in prominence in the years ahead. Increasing energy consumption and the intermittency of renewable sources are placing significant strain on power grids worldwide. To achieve long-term grid stability and reliability, collaboration between utilities and energy tech ventures will be essential. From grid monitoring to fault detection and flexibility markets, European startups are addressing this challenge head-on.
Fusion energy also garnered considerable attention. I had the chance to ask energy scale-up-related questions to a panel featuring Bob Mumgaard, CEO of Commonwealth Fusion Systems; Hans Kobler, CEO of Energy Impact Partners; and Sophie Hermans, Deputy Prime Minister of the Netherlands. The sentiment surrounding fusion energy’s transformative potential has gained significant momentum once more. While Europe is engaging with this topic at an increasing pace, many of the leading startups in the domain are not European. North America currently hosts two particularly leading fusion energy developers, including Helion Energy and General Fusion, in addition to the previously mentioned Commonwealth Fusion Systems.
A session at the WEF surrounding the scaling of energy tech. The exchange is between Daniel Uusitalo and Sophie Hermans, Deputy Prime Minister of the Netherlands (WEF, 2025).
Fusion is heavily concentrated in North America for several reasons, including access to public and private capital at scale and academic backing from globally leading institutions (such as MIT and Princeton). In a separate conversation I had, Joe Paluska, CMO of Commonwealth Fusion Systems, expressed optimism, stating that their first iteration of a functional fusion stack is expected to be operational sooner than many would expect. The enthusiasm for fusion is palpable, with broad interest across governments and private sectors alike. Europe will undoubtedly need to improve its competitiveness in this domain if it wishes to engage with fusion on its own terms.
From a European and Nordic perspective, energy tech ventures must increasingly focus on leveraging the regulatory tailwinds emerging in this sector. The European Union (EU) is steadily creating opportunities for companies working on innovations such as energy communities (a notable example being Nobile Group, which I had the opportunity to invest in during my tenure at Helen Ventures), demand response and flexibility market technologies (including Nordic pioneers like Emulate Energy, Flower and Ntricity), and renewable energy certificates (RECs). One European standout within the space of renewable energy certificates is Renewabl, a London-based company led by Juan Pablo Cerda, previously the founder of Zeigo. Renewabl is developing digital infrastructure to optimize time-based renewable energy consumption, production, and matching. I had the fortune of spending a lot of time with JP, and I believe his vision for the future is both clear and feasible. Energy tech startups seeking to capitalize on these EU-enabled trends will need to keep a close eye on Brussels to stay ahead of the curve.
EU policies, including the Renewable Energy Directive, which incentivize innovation in sustainable energy solutions, hold the seeds of potential that could enable a truly transformative push for energy tech development in Europe if managed well. It should also be noted that youth participation, as discussed in length, in this kind of policy work, will be essential in ensuring climate oriented solutions are able to scale in the world of tomorrow. An example of a project I came across which is driving this agenda, is the Asia-Pacific Energy Youth Engagement Platform Meeting, which seeks to include youth in leadership positions around energy transition strategies and around technology adoption. The discussion I had around this topic, with Aray Serikzhanova, was a fruitful one, and I look forward to keeping up to date with the project and its direction.
While optimism abounds, there remains a pressing need for more capital and regulatory support—particularly from the EU—to accelerate innovation and deployment. However, the ripples of progress were clearly evident throughout the WEF conference.
I look forward to seeing how the EU continues to develop its enabling environment for energy tech ventures. For now, the future looks bright for those tackling the challenges and opportunities in this vital industry.
Click here to read more community news.
Read the orginal article: https://arcticstartup.com/energy-tech-through-the-lens-of-of-the-world-economic-forum/
