This latest episode of Infra Dig, sees the IJGlobal podcast service return to roots… delving into sectors that are being discussed, but where there is an apparent lack of understanding.

To that end, IJGlobal editorial director Angus Leslie Melville pulls up the podcast seat to interview Henri Yoki – founder and chief executive of Finland-based AI specialist Exaum.

Conversation runs for a little more than 25 minutes and sees Henri discuss his company’s launch of a 1MW AI-optimised grid balancing pilot, the latest step in scaling its heat-generation-based power demand response technology.

You can access this latest episode on Apple Podcasts and through Player FM. It is also available across a host of other platforms.

The Exaum pilot has been installed at Karhulan Industrial Park, 130km east of Helsinki. This first-of-its-kind system aims to help enable the green energy transition by providing near-instantaneous grid balancing of power as more wind, solar, and other green but unpredictable sources are added to the transmission system operator’s supply choices.

In the podcast, Henri says: “If we look at the green energy transition and grid balancing, you need to have a lot of balancing capacity… because sometimes there is too much wind and sometimes there is not enough. So, the grid needs to be flexible on the consumption side. How do you do this in practice? This is where AI steps in.”

Henri breaks down the application of AI into 2 primary categories for energy infrastructure – forecasting and optimisation.

“Running AI algorithms can help you determine what is the best way to have your assets running,” says Heni, promptly admitting that the amount of hype around AI does not help.

“For us, we are using AI to forecast the markets – components like the price levels and then activation, and then on the cost side as well.”

With this information to hand, the AI tool allows organisations to determine the best times to run assets and is likely to crop up a great deal more in the coming years as intermittent energy supplies are increasingly added to national grids.

To hear about the individual application of this AI in Finland and follow the discussion that leads into the broader involvement of artificial intelligence in financial services, tune into the latest podcast.