Australian digital twin technology helps utilities to better manage assets

Sydney-based AI company Neara is helping network utilities worldwide to identify hazards, prioritise maintenance and plan for upgrades.

Neara builds ‘digital twins’ of power networks using a combination of physics, engineering and machine learning. These models are tested with AI to understand how they would respond to different scenarios, from extreme weather to new green energy sources.

With the information provided by the digital twins, infrastructure owners can optimise their power usage and navigate the complexities of energy transition and the ongoing demands of new technologies.

Neara’s technology is drawing the attention of international investors. Its latest round of funding raised A$90 million, with total funds raised to date reaching approximately A$180 million.

Power imbalance: the demands of AI

As AI becomes more integrated in work and daily lives, global demand for electricity to power data centres is projected to more than double by 2030.

The impact of that demand on the power grid is seismic, with out-of-date infrastructure forced to keep up with new technologies.

‘Power grids all over the world are reaching their limits under the combined pressure of AI, electrification, and rapidly rising demand,’ says Jack Curtis, Co-founder and Chief Commercial Officer at Neara.

‘Across energy, transport, and communications, systems built for a different era are now being pushed beyond their design assumptions,’ he says. ‘The world needs faster, more intelligent ways to understand what infrastructure is really capable of.

‘Neara grounds every simulation analysis in real-world physics, giving asset owners and operators the confidence to stretch capacity, manage risk, and invest where it matters most for both today’s constraints and the demands of the future.’

Neara’s digital twin technology is helping network utilities to better manage their assets.

Taking Australian technology global

With the rise of AI and power-hungry data centres, Neara’s technology is attracting interest from electricity distributors and data centre owners. In Australia, 90% of all network utilities in Australia are working with Neara.

The technology is also making an impact globally, with major utility companies in the US, the UK, Ireland and Greece using Neara’s digital twin technology to future-proof their networks. Curtis told the Australian Financial Review that 90% of Neara’s revenue comes from offshore.

Australia’s AI opportunities

Australia is home to a well-established tech, startup and funding ecosystem that is only growing – and AI is playing a central role in that growth.

The National AI Plan outlines a strategy for investing in AI, designed to maximise the benefits and minimise risk. The Australian Government has committed A$7 billion to boosting AI infrastructure, including A$362 million in targeted grant funding, A$47 million for a Next Generation Graduates Program, and A$39.9 million to strengthen the AI ecosystem, including bolstering the National AI Centre.

In 2025, Australian startups raised a total of A$5.4 billion, up more than 30% on the previous year. Of that funding, more than 60% went to companies using AI in their operations in some way.

How Austrade can help

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