The insatiable demand of Artificial Intelligence is driving a global race to develop next-generation energy sources to power the AI revolution. This DLD Munich 2026 expert panel explores how deep-tech solutions like fusion energy, advanced nuclear transmutation, and geothermal energy can sustainably support the AI data center boom.
Moderated by journalist Jennifer Schenker, the discussion brings together Guido Houben (Transmutex Germany); Tony Pink (Pink Granite Consulting) and Francesco Sciortino, co-founder and CEO of Proxima Fusion.
“AI is useful for optimizing our energy ecosystem, but it also needs a lot of energy”, Schenker notes. Fusion could provide essentially limitless power – but the technology poses the challenge of trying to “build a star in a laboratory”, Sciortino explains. After years of fundamental research, the effort now comes down to “transferring knowledge from national labs into private companies”, he adds.
Houben details how Transmutex transforms nuclear waste into clean energy using particle accelerators. This process reduces waste radioactivity from one million years to just 1,000 years, he says.
Pink highlights the potential of geothermal energy, driven by advances in drilling technology and increasing investment from hyperscalers like Google and Meta. Cutting-edge projects combine geothermal power with natural cooling technologies, he explains.
A startup named Blaq Cat creates “geodesic domes that sort of self-cool from the sea breeze coming in off the ocean”, Pink says. “And then all the power for that is coming from the geothermal well that’s right next to the data center. So we’ve moved the data center to the well.”
Watch the video explore this topic in detail.
