RWE, an international energy company, and Amazon Web Services Inc. (AWS), a cloud subsidiary of Amazon.com, announced a strategic partnership aimed at supporting Amazon’s digital expansion and RWE’s digital transformation, while contributing to the growing energy needs of digital infrastructure.
Energy support for AWS infrastructure
This cooperation builds upon an established relationship between the two companies, with seven Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) already active in the United States, totalling an installed capacity of 1.1 gigawatts (GW). The energy produced by these projects comes from RWE’s wind and solar installations, some of which are already operational and others under construction. The energy is intended to power AWS data centres with renewable energy sources.
According to Ulf Kerstin, Chief Commercial Officer of RWE Supply & Trading, “This strategic partnership represents a key step in our commitment to support digital infrastructure with clean energy. Digitalisation and electrification increase electricity demand, and our flexible production portfolio perfectly meets these growing needs.”
Digital acceleration at RWE
AWS will also contribute its technological expertise to accelerate RWE’s digital transformation by providing advanced cloud solutions. These services notably include artificial intelligence (AI) and data analytics to enhance operational performance and optimise decision-making within the German group’s energy operations.
AWS and RWE’s Supply & Trading division had already successfully collaborated by migrating critical applications to the AWS cloud. This includes the Energy Trading and Risk Management (ETRM) platform, which registered a 30% improvement in end-of-day processing performance.
Expansion of artificial intelligence research
The collaboration also foresees strengthened research and development activities, particularly through RWE’s artificial intelligence laboratory in Seattle. AWS’s advanced computational resources will allow the development of complex predictive models for energy optimisation and efficient management of commercial assets, particularly in the renewable energy domain.
Howard Gefen, General Manager Energy and Utilities at AWS, stated, “This expanded collaboration with RWE allows us to continue seeking new sources of carbon-free energy to meet our operational environmental requirements.”
This strategic partnership comes amid significant growth in energy needs linked to digitalisation and highlights the increasing convergence of the technology and energy sectors, especially through the use of advanced digital services such as artificial intelligence and large-scale data analytics.
