Sushil Purohit, Group Chief Executive Officer, Gentari, speaking during a panel session at CERAWeek 2026, in Houston, Texas.
At Gentari, the energy transition is viewed not as a linear shift, but as a system transformation - one that must continuously balance security, affordability and decarbonisation, particularly across Asia Pacific.
CERAWeek 2026 reinforced this perspective in a more immediate and tangible way. Rather than focusing on long-term pathways or emerging technologies in isolation, discussions throughout the week were shaped by real-time developments - geopolitical tensions, supply disruptions and a system under visible strain. The tone of the conversation shifted from future-looking ambition to present-day realities.
What emerged was a clear and collective realisation: the energy system is no longer being designed in theory; it is already being tested in practice. In that test, a fundamental shift is underway - from optimising for efficiency to designing for resilience.
A system under pressure
Recent disruptions, including those around the Strait of Hormuz, highlighted the structural vulnerabilities within the global energy system. These events exposed concentrated supply chains, tightly coupled dependencies and limited system buffers - characteristics that have been optimised for efficiency but not necessarily for resilience.
The implications extended beyond oil and gas, affecting broader commodity flows, logistics networks and industrial supply chains. More importantly, they reframed the role of energy security.
Energy security is no longer a parallel objective to the transition - it is the condition that enables it. Without secure and reliable systems, the transition itself cannot scale.
This shift is already influencing strategic priorities. Across the industry, there is renewed emphasis on diversification, a growing recognition that redundancy supports resilience, and a more deliberate incorporation of flexibility and optionality into system design.
From transition to transformation
Against this backdrop, the nature of the transition itself is being redefined.
The transition is no longer about replacing one fuel with another. It is about rebuilding the energy system in its entirety - across infrastructure, markets and end-use applications.
This distinction is particularly relevant in Asia. The region accounts for more than half of global energy demand and is expected to drive the majority of demand growth through 2040. This growth is underpinned by industrialisation, urbanisation and the rapid expansion of digital infrastructure, including AI-driven data centres.
At the same time, Asia must decarbonise at pace.
The implication is clear: this is not a substitution exercise. It is a simultaneous expansion and transformation of the energy system - requiring new approaches to system design, infrastructure development and investment.
Integration as the new frontier of value
As the transition evolves, so too does the nature of competition.
In its earlier phase, success was largely defined by the ability to scale individual technologies such as solar, wind and battery storage. Today, the constraint is no longer generation capacity alone, but the ability to integrate increasingly complex systems.
Energy systems are becoming more electrified, decentralised and multi-vector - spanning electrons and molecules. The challenge lies in orchestrating these components into a coherent and reliable system, including aligning intermittent renewable supply with demand, integrating storage, enabling cross-border flows and linking power systems with hydrogen and mobility ecosystems.
This is where value is increasingly being created. Leadership in the next phase of the transition will be defined not only by asset ownership, but by the ability to integrate across value chains, geographies and energy carriers.
Gentari’s approach reflects this perspective. The company has built a diversified clean energy platform, with approximately 9.1 GW of renewable energy capacity (installed and under construction) across key markets including Malaysia, India and Australia. This is complemented by a growing hydrogen portfolio of around 175 KTPA, alongside green ammonia offtake arrangements such as its collaboration with Uniper.
In parallel, Gentari’s Green Mobility business has deployed over 1,100 EV charging points regionally, with access to more than 10,000 charging points through its roaming network.
Individually, these are meaningful assets. Collectively, they form an integrated platform that connects renewable generation to molecules, mobility and end-use demand.
AI: from peripheral to central
Another defining theme at CERAWeek 2026 was the accelerating role of artificial intelligence in the energy system.
AI is emerging as both a demand driver and a system enabler.
On the demand side, data centres are becoming one of the fastest-growing sources of electricity consumption globally, requiring continuous, high-density power and influencing where energy infrastructure is developed.
On the system side, AI is increasingly critical in managing complexity - enhancing forecasting accuracy, optimising grid operations and enabling real-time balancing of supply and demand.
In this context, AI is not an adjunct to the energy system. It is reshaping both the demand profile and the architecture of the system itself.
ASEAN: designing the system differently
These global dynamics are particularly significant in Southeast Asia.
ASEAN combines some of the world’s largest renewable resource potential—including an estimated 8,000 GW of solar capacity - with fast-growing demand centres and an energy system that is still being developed. This creates a rare opportunity to design the system differently from the outset.
Regional interconnection is central to this opportunity. Initiatives such as the Lao PDR–Thailand–Malaysia–Singapore Power Integration Project (LTMS-PIP), which has already enabled cross-border electricity trade, demonstrate that regional integration is both viable and operational.
Scaling these efforts, however, remains a key challenge. It will require substantial infrastructure investment, regulatory alignment, market mechanisms and sustained cross-border collaboration.
Gentari is contributing to this emerging system through initiatives such as the Vietnam–Malaysia–Singapore (VMS) corridor, alongside large-scale renewable and energy storage developments designed to support regional demand centres.
Capital, clarity and execution
A consistent theme throughout the week was the role of capital.
Global capital availability for the energy transition remains strong. However, the constraint lies not in capital supply, but in the availability of bankable structures, policy clarity and execution confidence.
Capital is not waiting for ideas - it is waiting for certainty. Clear regulatory frameworks, predictable returns and credible delivery pathways are increasingly critical to unlocking investment at scale.
This gap between ambition and execution is emerging as one of the defining challenges of the transition.
From ambition to delivery
The broader shift across the industry is clear.
If the past decade was defined by ambition - setting targets, announcing pathways and scaling technologies—the decade ahead will be defined by execution.
The questions are no longer conceptual. They are operational. Can systems be built at the required speed? Can scale be achieved without compromising reliability? Can integrated systems deliver on the energy trilemma in practice?
CERAWeek 2026 reflected this inflection point.
It was less a conference about the future, and more a moment of alignment - where the industry recognised that the system being built is more complex, more interconnected and more consequential than anything before.
In such a system, no single technology will dominate, no single player can operate in isolation, and no single objective can be optimised without trade-offs.
The future of energy will belong to those who can integrate - across systems, geographies and time horizons.
For Gentari, this is not an abstract ambition. It is a deliberate strategy-building an integrated clean energy platform that connects electrons and molecules, generation and demand, markets and customers across Asia Pacific.
Ultimately, the success of the transition will not be defined by what is planned, but by what is delivered - through real projects, real partnerships and measurable progress on the ground.
And as the industry looks ahead, the next phase of the transition will likely be shaped not by identifying fault lines, but by demonstrating how they are being addressed.