The 8th ASEAN Energy Outlook (AEO8) provides a comprehensive analysis of ASEAN’s current energy landscape while offering projections for potential future scenarios. Following a surge in energy demand beyond pre-pandemic levels, AEO8 highlights various pathways that address increased energy challenges while promoting outcomes that enable sustainable growth and collaboration within the region.

Historical data from 2005–2022 are projected out to 2023–2050 in four scenarios to forecast and analyse future energy landscapes within the ASEAN region: the Baseline Scenario, ASEAN Member States Targets Scenario, Regional Aspiration Scenario and Carbon Neutrality Scenario.

The report highlights seven key elements essential to a secure and reliable energy transition:

• Multilateral power trade – cross-border electricity trading and regional power grid integration
• ASEAN gas infrastructure – regional gas pipelines, liquefied natural gas terminals and integrated gas markets to strengthen energy security
• Carbon capture and storage (CCS) – developing regional CCS hubs to support emissions reduction
• Smart demand response – using demand-side flexibility to balance electricity supply and demand
• Variable renewable energy – integrating solar and wind through energy storage, distributed energy resources and digital technologies
• Carbon pricing – developing carbon markets and pricing mechanisms to support decarbonization while maintaining industrial competitiveness
• Emerging technologies – the potential roles of hydrogen, ammonia and nuclear energy in ASEAN’s energy transition

SEI US researchers collaborated with the ASEAN Centre for Energy to provide technical support and policy input for AEO8, helping inform regional energy planning and future policy decisions. The modelling for AEO8 was conducted with SEI’s LEAP and NEMO modelling tools.