TotalEnergies is turning to artificial intelligence to supercharge its push into the future of energy.
The French energy major revealed its new partnership with increasing the application of artificial intelligence, another company from France, to launch a dedicated innovation lab. This hub will bring together experts from both organizations, putting the focus on designing advanced digital tools that help transition the global energy business toward renewables.
The collaboration draws on the unique skills of each side. Mistral AI is bringing its cutting edge knowledge of artificial intelligence, while TotalEnergies contributes its long-standing experience in the energy sector. The early ambitions are big: the teams are developing an AI powered assistant for TotalEnergies’ thousand strong research group. The aim is for these researchers to work more efficiently as they hunt for greener energy sources and find ways to reduce the company’s environmental impact.
AI-Fueled Innovation for Clean Energy
Beyond supporting researchers, the joint lab wants to unlock smarter decision making for industrial operations. The hope is to use digital tools to boost asset performance and cut down on carbon emissions at TotalEnergies’ sites. The companies are also looking at ways digital solutions can make life simpler and more energy efficient for customers.
TotalEnergies CEO Patrick Pouyanné explained his vision for the collaboration, saying, “This deal reflects our intention to contribute to the emergence of a technological ecosystem in Europe and will allow us to explore new opportunities to further embed AI into our activities. AI has huge potential to transform energy systems, and this partnership was motivated by our pioneering spirit and ongoing search for innovation.”
There is also a broader European context; both sides will be looking at how the project could strengthen Europe’s digital independence as the region debates how to manage data and artificial intelligence infrastructure. Arthur Mensch, CEO of Mistral AI, framed the partnership as a moment that “illustrates the positive impact generative AI can have on a sector as strategic as that of TotalEnergies.”
The push into artificial intelligence is not new for TotalEnergies. In previous projects, AI helped improve geological analysis and made the task of monitoring equipment for faults and performance issues much easier. With more than a hundred digital solutions created by its Digital Factory and sixty already using machine learning or generative capabilities, the company wants to move faster on the path to renewables.
The new lab is poised to expand AI’s role far beyond the basics. The expectation is that the next round of solutions will help not just within the company but also give customers better ways to control their consumption and, ideally, lower bills as well as emissions, as seen in competing with global giants using distinct European approaches.
