From Legacy to PowerTech: Radu Brasoveanu on Digital Innovation Reshaping Energy

The energy sector stands at a transformative crossroads. While traditionally conservative and slow to change, the industry is now being reshaped by forces ranging from AI-driven data centers to the integration of renewable energy and smart grid technologies. Leading this digital revolution at PPC Romania is Radu Brasoveanu, Chief Digital Officer, who brings a unique perspective on how a legacy energy company can evolve into a modern PowerTech player.

As part of PPC Group’s ambitious vision to become a leading European PowerTech company, Radu is driving innovations for PPC Romania that span from smart grid automation to AI-powered energy forecasting. His work exemplifies how the energy sector is no longer just about generating and distributing power—it’s about creating intelligent, responsive, and sustainable energy ecosystems that power our digital future.

Let’s start with something personal 🙂: As someone leading digital transformation in a traditionally conservative industry, what does a typical day look like for you? How do you balance the technical challenges with the human side of change management?

I allocate a part of a typical workday to meetings with my team and with the business divisions. My office door is open to everyone, and on my way to the watercooler, I like to stop and have small chats with my colleagues. From my point of view, having constant discussions, getting to know better the ones you work with, and being in constant contact with the business representatives, will get us to collaborate more closely, doing the right things and getting them done.

You’re spearheading digital innovation at PPC Romania in an industry that’s historically been slow to adopt new technologies. Can you walk us through what “digital transformation” actually means in the energy sector and why this shift is happening now?

At the Group level, our ambition is to become a leading European PowerTech player. We see digitalization as a strategic cornerstone of our business, a catalyst for greater operational efficiency, smarter customer solutions, and scalable innovation. In today’s evolving energy landscape, where data and energy converge, technology is the engine driving everything from intelligent energy management to faster renewable integration and decarbonization.

The transformation is aligned with the development of technologies that help us, as an industry, to shift more visibly to the integration of smart systems into our infrastructure, processes, and platforms.

To give you concrete examples, as a modern utilities company, we are highly focused on digitizing our grids, these “roads” that distribute energy into our homes. This means installing smart systems which can help us fix remote grid faults, which until not many years ago were solved exclusively by field technicians who had to go long distances, in areas difficult to access to spot and fix the fault. Now, most of this information is just a button away, thanks to the SCADA systems and other platforms around.

Another example: on the supply side, people want friendly and fully digitized experiences, as they have with any other FMCG company. They want to use apps and get their info on the spot. We can give them this with the help of modern platforms and tools such as virtual assistants, voice bots, or even video content that is generated using AI.

These are just a few examples to give you a flavor of what we are working on every day, but the list is very long, and this is just the beginning of this major transformation process within our group of companies.

When you talk about moving “from legacy to PowerTech,” what are the biggest technical and cultural barriers you’ve encountered? How do you convince teams that have been doing things the same way for decades to embrace digital solutions?

First of all, I would say that, in this industry, we have a high barrier to entry. All infrastructure elements and not only them involve massive investments to perform in accordance with today’s needs of the consumers, and the costs are recovered over long periods. Also, in the energy ecosystem, we have a huge amount of equipment that needs to be digitized, so any large-scale project can last years to have it done end-to-end.

From a mentality perspective, many people are still stuck with the image of energy that just exists, that lights up a room when you turn on/off a switch. It is true that, until not very long ago, the energy system involved a one-way flow, from the energy producer to the grids and then into our homes. Nowadays, energy circulates both ways, and concepts such as prosumers, electric charging stations, and smart meters, to name a few recent developments, are changing the game and the way we consume energy. We are not passive consumers anymore.

This major technological shift comes with big responsibilities from our side as people and businesses want to manage and use the full potential of energy, and we need to show them the benefits and value added of energy innovations.

We are moving from the traditional business model to the PowerTech concept as we integrate more and more new technologies into our lines of business, be that energy production, grid operation, retail platforms, with their affiliated backend systems.

AI and machine learning are transforming many industries. In your role, where are you seeing the most promising applications of AI in energy – is it in grid optimization, predictive maintenance, customer experience, or something else entirely?

We, at the PPC group level, have an integrated vision in this regard, and we focus intensively on AI use cases for our sector. PPC Group is advancing the use of AI technologies to optimize energy systems, reduce CO₂ emissions, and support the transition to a greener and more digital energy future.

In Greece, at the PPC Group level, there are already ongoing initiatives in this area, such as the Olympus AI project, a pioneering effort in leveraging artificial intelligence for energy management and innovation.

We also plan to leverage AI to improve forecasting across our main lines of business—whether it’s optimizing our own technological consumption in the distribution segment, improving production forecasts in renewables, or achieving a more balanced consumption forecast in the retail sector.

Data centers and cloud infrastructure are creating unprecedented energy demands globally. From PPC’s perspective, how are you preparing for and capitalizing on this surge in power requirements from the tech sector?

We are part of a Group that is deeply committed to the green transition and digital transformation and which is strategically positioning itself at the intersection of energy and technology.

And these are not just big words. I want to share with you a huge project of PPC Group, which took off this spring: the transformation of Western Macedonia region in Greece, once the heart of lignite-based energy, into a regional hub for clean energy and high-tech infrastructure. At the core of this €5.75 billion roadmap is the development of a robust green energy ecosystem that will power one of Europe’s largest data centers, a 300MW hyperscale facility scalable up to 1,000MW, to be built on PPC-owned land with existing grid and cooling infrastructure. This project represents a shift in how we produce and consume energy. Through significant investments in renewables, battery and pumped hydro storage, green hydrogen, and fiber connectivity, PPC is creating a self-sustained, digitally enabled environment where energy production, data infrastructure, and industrial innovation coexist seamlessly. This approach ensures a reliable, clean, and grid-independent power supply for hyperscalers, while also attracting a broader tech ecosystem. This is maybe the ultimate proof of PPC’s evolution into a PowerTech company.

Finally, for tech founders and energy entrepreneurs who will be at How to Web Conference 2025, what advice would you give them about opportunities in the energy-tech space? How can people connect with you to explore potential collaborations in this evolving landscape?

I invite them to explore in depth the opportunities provided by the energy industry, as it is the fundamental base for any other industry. Using a touch of humor, I like to say that no gadget, no internet connection, and almost nothing would work without power. This is why we focus on strategic innovation to make things evolve. And we focus on three main pillars: idea management, collaboration with the innovator ecosystem, and development of employee capabilities. This means we seek value-added solutions, we are open and present and eager to get in contact with the heart of the tech ecosystem, like, for example, How to Web, and that we keep an open door for young IT specialists who want to make a contribution to this complex energy world which relies on a complex IT layer.

I’m actively working to change the outdated perception that the energy industry is old-fashioned or “dusty.” In fact, I believe this makes it an even greater space for growth and innovation, precisely because there’s so much untapped potential.

The energy sector’s digital transformation represents one of the most significant challenges and changes today. As Radu demonstrates through PPC’s evolution into a PowerTech company, success requires balancing massive infrastructure investments with cutting-edge technology adoption, while managing cultural change across decades-old operational practices. The convergence of renewable energy, AI optimization, and hyperscale data center demands creates unprecedented opportunities for tech entrepreneurs who understand both the complexity and potential of modernizing critical energy infrastructure.

Don’t miss the chance to connect with Radu Brasoveanu and his team at How to Web Conference 2025!

Whether you’re a tech founder exploring energy-tech opportunities, an entrepreneur interested in sustainability solutions, or simply curious about how traditional industries are embracing digital transformation, Radu’s insights offer a unique window into one of Europe’s most ambitious PowerTech transformations. As he emphasizes, the energy industry provides the fundamental foundation for all other sectors—making it a space ripe with untapped potential for those ready to innovate at the intersection of power and technology.