The Role of Digitalization in the Global Energy Transition

Abstract

In the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, digitalization has become a popular topic in both practical and theoretical terms. In many areas, for example, education and communications, information and communication technologies began to play a leading role, especially during the period of limited mobility. However, in some other areas that also came under close scrutiny during the pandemic, such as the field of energy transition, digitalization has not yet fully unlocked its potential. Moreover, the digitalization of energy transition has not been researched enough. The purpose of this article is to fill this gap. The authors investigate the current stage of digitalization of the energy sector and the role of information and communication technologies in the traditional energy complex and in clean energy and identify and analyze the key groups of technologies that will have a decisive impact on the energy transition in the near future. The authors also examine the process of digitalization in the Russian energy sector in order to determine whether it is giving an impetus to the energy transition of Russia.