La Trobe Energy AI Platform (LEAP)

Globally, energy production is the largest emitter of carbon, 15+ billion tons annually. The largest consumer of this energy, commercial and residential buildings, accounts for 30% energy waste. Optimising for demand and supply, can address both challenges of emissions and waste, leading to emission targets of UN-SDG13.Although energy systems are complex with many moving parts, the data generated by the sum and parts can be monitored, analysed and used for predictions, decisions and actions that achieve this emissions reduction, cost reduction and sustainability education outcomes. LEAP is a world-first for developing and operationalising AI innovations that address these complexities.

Being designed and developed as a living lab, innovation is foundational to LEAP. The platform processes more than a billion data points, centralised within an all-data lakehouse that generates a single-version-of-truth of internal and external data streams. LEAP’s AI engine consists of generative and predictive AI capabilities. Predictive capabilities include, peak demand forecasting, long-term forecasting, solar generation forecasting, drift detection and prediction, building profiling, anomaly detection using intra-day and inter-day consumption signatures, tariff simulation, metering and bill validation. The generative AI capabilities are designed into an AI agent, ‘Cooee’, that reduces the complexity of energy data towards decisions and actions.

Since 2023, LEAP has contributed towards the reduction of 27,000 tons of emissions, 15% of energy waste and savings of $200,000 per year. The social impact of LEAP is equally extensive in delivering AI for sustainability education to 5000+ students and community members. LEAP is designed and built by students working under the supervision of academic staff and industry partners. These students gain sector-leading AI skills and industry exposure which later translates into an Australia-wide workforce contribution. LEAP has produced 20+ research publications, significant global uplift for La Trobe and Australian AI research reputation.

Please visit the LEAP website for further information and demos: https://leap-ai.info/