UAE Minister of Economy and the French Ambassador to UAE joined more than 2,500 energy professionals for Schneider Electric’s flagship
Schneider Electric, the global energy technology leader, has concluded its Innovation Summit Middle East and Africa in Abu Dhabi, bringing together more than 2,500 attendees, including government leaders, industry analysts, customers, partners, students, and media, to examine how the convergence of energy, artificial intelligence and industrial software is reshaping the region’s future.
During the summit, the company also launched its UAE Industrial AI Study, highlighting the country’s growing leadership in industrial AI adoption and confidence among manufacturers.
Held under the theme ‘Advancing Energy Tech to Power Intelligence and Resilience’, the two-day summit focused on a growing shift in the energy transition: from simply decarbonizing energy supply to building intelligent, connected and resilient systems capable of supporting AI-driven economic growth.
Clean energy
Governments and businesses across the region are investing in clean energy, grid modernization, AI, data centers and industrial technologies to strengthen resilience, competitiveness and energy security. As a result, the convergence of energy, software and intelligence is becoming increasingly central to how economies grow and critical infrastructure evolves.
“We are entering an Era of Intelligence in which AI is becoming embedded in the physical economy. AI may be digital, but it runs on electricity and depends on the physical systems beneath it,” affirmed Olivier Blum, CEO, Schneider Electric.
“As an Energy Technology Partner, we help customers connect energy and operations through data, software, AI and automation, turning intelligence into action to improve performance, resilience and competitiveness. The scale of this shift is especially clear in the Middle East and Africa, where governments and businesses are investing in energy and digital infrastructure to support industrial transformation and long-term growth,” he added.
Strategic priorities
Along the sidelines of the summit, the UAE Ministry of Economy and Tourism and Schneider Electric signed an agreement, initiating the launch of the NEST Accelerator Programme, a 12-week initiative targeting high-potential early-stage startups across the Middle East and Africa working in Energy Tech, Industrial Tech, and Enterprise AI — sectors aligned with both Schneider Electric’s strategic priorities and the UAE’s future economy agenda, that will be delivered through a specialized third-party accelerator under Schneider Electric’s supervision.
“Industrial AI is moving from experimentation to deployment. What distinguishes the UAE is not only the pace of adoption, but the confidence manufacturers have in AI’s ability to improve productivity, efficiency and resilience,” asserted Walid Sheta, President for MEA Zone, Schneider Electric.
Energy, AI and Infrastructure converge
Throughout the summit, speakers and participants explored the increasingly connected future of energy systems, focusing on four key themes:
- AI-powered energy and industrial operations
- Grid modernization and electrification
- Data centers as critical infrastructure
- Cybersecurity as a foundation for digital resilience
The summit opened with a keynote address from HE Abdulla Bin Touq Al Marri, UAE Minister of Economy and Tourism, in the presence of HE Marie Audouard, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the French Republic to the UAE, followed by welcome remarks from Walid Sheta, President, MEA Zone, Schneider Electric, and Amel Chadli, President, Gulf Cluster, Schneider Electric.
Top brass
Schneider Electric senior executives, including Frederic Godemel, Executive Vice President, Energy Management; Hany Fouda, Senior Vice President, Process Automation; Manish Kumar, Executive Vice President, Secure Power; Pankaj Sharma, Executive Vice President, Software & Services; Peter Weckesser, Executive Vice President, Schneider Digital and Chief Digital Officer, joined customers, partners and industry leaders to discuss strategies for building more intelligent, efficient and resilient energy systems.
A key highlight of the event was the company’s newly unveiled its 3,000sqm innovation Hub, showcasing technologies that span the full lifecycle of infrastructure, from design and construction to operation and maintenance. Visitors also experienced demonstrations of Schneider Electric’s Data Cube platform and a range of innovations supporting AI-powered operations, smart buildings, sustainable data centers, industrial automation, water technologies, mobility and cybersecurity.
