As digital transformation in energy operations accelerates, the focus is shifting from strategy to execution. Energy companies are under pressure to modernise legacy systems, improve asset performance and deliver measurable results from technology investment. Ahead of the Digital Energy Strategies Summit, we spoke with Trifork Spain’s CEO about how organisations are turning digital ambition into operational reality.
Can you introduce your role and how Trifork supports organisations across the energy sector?
Erik Molina Nilsen the CEO of Trifork Spain, and my background has always been rooted in the business side of the technology sector — leading teams across strategy, commercial development, go-to-market and international expansion.
Over the years, I’ve worked with organisations in energy, telecom, transportation and industrial markets, helping them shape their digital transformation plans and turn technology investment into tangible business results.
Trifork, the company I lead in Spain, is part of the wider Trifork Group — a Scandinavian technology and innovation company founded in Denmark more than 25 years ago. From its Nordic origins, the Group has expanded steadily across Europe and the US, growing into markets such as the Netherlands, Switzerland, Germany, the UK and North America. Spain is one of the newest growth regions, and we are building on the same principles that have defined Trifork since the beginning.
What sets us apart is our engineering depth, our collaborative way of working, and our focus on solutions that deliver real operational value. We work side-by-side with our customers, involving their teams throughout the process, and prioritising fast, iterative delivery that fits operational reality.
“Our role is to connect market needs with technological capabilities and ensure that digitalisation leads to measurable improvements.”
Where are you seeing the most meaningful progress in digital transformation across energy operations today?
At Trifork, we support digital transformation in energy operations by combining strong engineering capabilities with a focus on practical impact. Many energy organisations are operating complex, distributed infrastructures while facing growing pressure to modernise their core systems, improve asset performance, and streamline field operations.
We support this across several areas, including modernising ERP-driven workflows, mobilising field operations with intuitive mobile tools, implementing IoT and telemetry pipelines, deploying real-time analytics, and automating repetitive processes.
In Spain, we work closely with energy, transportation and industrial organisations to design solutions that respect operational realities — particularly the need for reliability, offline functionality, secure data flow, and fast user adoption.
What are your priorities heading into this year’s Digital Energy Strategies Summit?
At this year’s summit, our goal is to continue advancing the conversation on how energy organisations can modernise their operations in practical, scalable ways. We see the summit as an opportunity to strengthen dialogue with organisations navigating increasing complexity, regulatory pressure, and evolving workforce demands.
We’re focused on identifying new opportunities for collaboration, sharing insights from real-world projects, and learning from the challenges others are facing — particularly around legacy systems, fragmented data and scaling digital initiatives.
Which areas of the agenda feel most relevant based on the work you’re delivering today?
We are particularly excited about this year’s agenda because many of the core themes align directly with where we see organisations achieving the most tangible value. Topics such as legacy infrastructure integration, human–machine collaboration, digital twins, IoT, real-time analytics, and workflow automation are central to the discussions.
The critical challenge remains moving from pilot to scale — an area where many organisations struggle.
“Many organisations have experimented with digital initiatives, but only a few have managed to industrialise them.”
What external pressures are shaping digital investment decisions across the sector right now?
Over the next year, the industry will be shaped by a combination of macroeconomic and operational pressures. Market volatility, regulatory change, rising costs and supply chain disruption are all influencing how organisations prioritise investment.
At the same time, demand is increasing rapidly, driven by electrification, AI and data centre growth. Combined with rising capital project costs and ongoing talent shortages, organisations are under pressure to prioritise digital initiatives that deliver measurable, near-term impact.
Where do organisations typically struggle when trying to move from strategy into execution?
What continues to stand out is how often transformation gets stuck between ambition and execution. Many organisations have clear goals, but legacy processes, fragmented data, and limited field adoption slow progress significantly.
Even relatively simple changes can take time when teams are balancing day-to-day operations with transformation initiatives.
How is digitalisation and automation improving day-to-day operations in energy environments?
Digitalisation and automation are helping organisations respond to increasing complexity by improving visibility and reducing manual work. Real-time data enables earlier issue detection, while automated workflows improve consistency and reduce administrative burden.
These capabilities directly support operational reliability, efficiency and safety — all of which are critical in today’s environment.
Can you share examples where digital solutions have delivered measurable impact?
Across our work, we’ve seen how effective digitalisation can be when solutions are designed around the people using them.
In one case, we supported an energy distribution company where field teams had stopped using an existing mobile app due to poor usability. By introducing a faster, offline-capable solution, adoption improved immediately, data quality increased, and operational visibility improved significantly.
We’ve also worked with infrastructure operators to unify asset data through telemetry pipelines, enabling faster response times and more accurate maintenance planning, as well as implementing Vision AI to streamline inspection processes.
“When solutions are intuitive, reliable and well integrated, people use them — and when people use them, the organisation benefits immediately.”
What are the biggest barriers when implementing digital and automation strategies at scale?
Legacy systems, fragmented processes and inconsistent data remain major barriers. Without a strong foundation, digital initiatives are difficult to scale effectively.
There is also a human element — new systems must align with how teams actually work. Without intuitive design and clear value, adoption becomes a challenge.
What lessons from your project experience would be most valuable for industry peers?
Several lessons stand out. Simplification often delivers more impact than large-scale initiatives. Investing early in data quality accelerates progress. And designing solutions with end users in mind significantly improves adoption.
It’s also critical to build for scale from the outset — many organisations struggle because their initial solutions aren’t designed for operational reality.
What advice would you give to those building a career in this evolving sector?
Curiosity and adaptability are essential. The energy sector is evolving rapidly, and the ability to bridge technology and operations is increasingly valuable.
Those who can connect business priorities with technical capabilities will play a key role in shaping the future of the industry.
Why should industry leaders prioritise attending the summit in 2026?
The next few years will be defined by increasing complexity, rising demand and continued transformation. The summit provides a valuable opportunity to share practical insights, compare approaches, and understand what is delivering results in real operational environments.
What’s your approach to getting maximum value from events like this?
Arrive with clear priorities — both in terms of what you want to learn and who you want to meet. The most valuable conversations often happen in smaller, focused settings.
Equally important is the follow-up. Turning conversations into actionable next steps is where the real value lies.
As digital transformation in energy operations continues to evolve, the challenge is no longer defining strategy — it’s delivering execution at scale. The conversations taking place at the Digital Energy Strategies Summit will focus on exactly that: turning digital ambition into operational outcomes that improve performance, resilience and long-term competitiveness.
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