Alibaba Cloud, the digital technology and intelligence pillar of the Alibaba Group, has announced that the International Olympic Committee (IOC) will use its data-based sustainability solution, Energy Expert, to measure and analyze electricity consumption at the competition venues of the upcoming Paris 2024 Olympic Games. This deployment will enable more accurate analysis and better informed energy consumption planning for future editions of the Olympic Games.
The use of Energy Expert will be applied at the 35 competition venues during Paris 2024. With this solution, the IOC will be able to consolidate all energy-related data during the Olympic and Paralympic Games, such as electricity consumption, energy demand contingencies, venue capacities, competition-related information, and on-site weather conditions, into an easy-to-understand and user-friendly dashboard.
Based on cloud-integrated intelligence and leveraging Alibaba Cloud’s deep-learning-based AI models, Energy Expert aims to provide more accurate analysis to produce forecasts and specific recommendations for each venue, such as optimizing energy demand to minimize waste.
“Sustainability is one of the three pillars of the Olympic Agenda 2020+5 along with credibility and youth. With Energy Expert, we can now forecast our long-term energy-related impacts and measure our progress accurately,” said Ilario Corna, Director of Information and Technology at the International Olympic Committee (IOC). “Electricity consumption is a major contributor to the carbon emissions of the Olympic Games. The data-driven vision that Energy Expert produces will help us learn from each edition of the Games and apply that knowledge intelligently to make future events even more energy-efficient.”
Furthermore, real-time electricity consumption at the operational spaces on-site will be collected from a selection of competition venues with 100 smart electric meters installed to obtain more comprehensive data sets. For example, the real-time electricity consumption of various operational spaces on-site, including playing fields, transmission and media work areas, technological operational spaces, specific equipment, food and beverage equipment, and a range of other temporary operational areas and equipment. The collected data sets will vary, taking into account temperature conditions and real-time occupancy of areas at different times of the day. Gathering these detailed data sets will allow for a more precise context for the Olympic Games Organizing Committees (OCOGs) to reference energy consumption data from the Paris Games.
To support OCOGs in conducting a more comprehensive analysis of energy consumption trends at the Games, electricity data from previous Games, including the 2012 London Olympics, the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics, and the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, will also be available for analysis within Energy Expert.
“Energy Expert will further demonstrate its value in the highest-profile and challenging arena of all: the world of fast-paced and highly competitive international sports. The insights provided by Energy Expert will be part of the solution to help the IOC and future Games become more sustainable,” said William Xiong, Vice President of Alibaba Cloud Intelligence and General Manager of International Industrial Solutions.
Outside of competition venues, AI-driven recommendations from Energy Expert have been applied to help Alibaba optimize energy consumption and minimize carbon emissions at its temporary exhibition venues during Paris 2024. For example, at the Alibaba Wonder Avenue on the Avenue des Champs-Élysées, sustainable wood materials and recyclable steel will be used for the main structure of the venue to reduce the carbon footprint. The semi-open design of the space has also contributed to optimizing energy consumption and minimizing carbon emissions, mainly by leveraging natural lighting and ventilation.
Introduced in June 2022, the first application of Energy Expert at a sporting event was in 2023 at the first Esports Olympic Week in Singapore. The solution was tested to measure and analyze the carbon emissions of temporary constructions built to host the Esports Olympic Week, in order to generate data-driven insights on the choice of materials and equipment used at the event. A series of metrics were evaluated, including the impact of energy consumption, waste management, signage and decoration, allowing for the comparison of the relative impacts of various types of materials and equipment used at the event.
Beyond sports environments and applications, Energy Expert also helps over 3,000 customers worldwide measure, analyze, and manage the carbon emissions of their business activities and products. The solution also provides practical insights and energy-saving recommendations to help customers accelerate their journeys towards sustainability.