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At COP29, IBM and Sustainable Energy for All (SEforALL) unveiled cutting-edge AI-powered solutions designed to support sustainable urban development globally. The collaboration, through IBM’s Sustainability Accelerator program, aims to address critical urbanization challenges and energy infrastructure needs in developing regions. These tools are publicly available and offer policymakers valuable insights into urban planning, energy access, and transition efforts, especially in Africa and India.
John Matogo, Corporate Social Responsibility Leader for Africa & the Middle East at IBM, emphasized the importance of leveraging artificial intelligence to tackle some of the most pressing issues in energy and sustainable urban development. He stated that partnerships with organizations like SEforALL unlock innovation and help communities overcome developmental challenges. Damilola Ogunbiyi, CEO of SEforALL, echoed this sentiment, noting that AI integration in energy sector planning is vital for designing comprehensive solutions that can address the developmental challenges facing the Global South.
One of the key solutions unveiled was the Open Building Insights (OBI) tool, developed in collaboration between SEforALL and IBM. OBI is an interactive platform running on IBM Cloud, consolidating data from various sources to help energy planners overcome data gaps in urban areas. The platform visualizes data related to building location, height, footprint area, and usage type, making AI models more accessible to non-technical users. The OBI tool is already being used in Kenya for energy planning and is available for free to the public.
The Open Building Insights platform combines data from the German Aerospace Center (DLR), Open Energy Maps, and IBM, providing stakeholders with insights about energy needs and urban development. In Kenya, Makueni County has already used the platform to gain valuable insights for energy planning, benefiting approximately 1.1 million citizens by 2030. The tool is also available for the state of Maharashtra in India, offering insights into energy consumption and planning.
Another major highlight is the Modeling Urban Growth (MUG) model, which uses AI to predict where cities will grow. This open-source AI model leverages satellite images, geographic data, and demographic data to create time series predictions for urban growth and associated infrastructure needs. MUG helps decision-makers prioritize areas in need of electrification and energy services, ensuring that development is inclusive and sustainable. The model, which is currently trained on data from multiple African countries, is available on GitHub and can be re-trained by users for any country in the world.
IBM and SEforALL’s ongoing collaboration continues to bring AI solutions to the forefront of sustainable development. The organizations plan to expand the Open Building Insights platform in India and explore integrating the Modeling Urban Growth model to further support sustainable urban planning. This partnership exemplifies the power of AI in driving positive change and fostering resilient, sustainable cities across the globe.
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