AI is poised to transform infrastructure: Bentley Systems opens the Year in Infrastructure 2025
Leaders and innovators from across the global infrastructure sector gathered on October 15th for the opening of the 2025 Year in Infrastructure and Going Digital Awards, hosted by Bentley Systems. The first day of the event focused on how artificial intelligence, open data, and geospatial technology are reshaping the way infrastructure is designed, delivered, and operated. From transformative AI announcements to in-depth discussions on digital water management, the conference highlighted the growing convergence between technology and engineering expertise.
This year’s Year in Infrastructure reflected the rapid adoption of AI across the industry
The day began with a keynote by CEO Nicholas Cumins and CTO Julien Moutte, who unveiled new Infrastructure AI capabilities and introduced the Infrastructure AI Co-Innovation Initiative, a collaborative program inviting engineering firms and asset owners to shape the next generation of AI-driven workflows. “AI is poised to transform infrastructure,” said Cumins. “At Bentley, our vision is for AI to empower infrastructure engineers—not replace them. Trustworthy AI, built on infrastructure context, can improve engineering productivity and transform workflows across project and asset lifecycles.”
Beyond innovation, Bentley reaffirmed its commitment to data stewardship and transparency
This year’s Going Digital Awards reflected the rapid adoption of AI across the industry, with nearly one-third of submissions and almost half of the finalists integrating AI into their projects. These figures align with the findings of a global survey released during the event, conducted by Bentley in collaboration with Pinsent Masons, Mott MacDonald, and Turner & Townsend, which revealed that about half of infrastructure professionals are either piloting or already implementing AI, with ambitions to scale its use to boost productivity and automate documentation. “The greatest challenge to delivering better and more resilient infrastructure is engineering capacity,” Cumins noted. “The reality is, there simply aren’t enough engineers in the world to do all the work that needs to be done. AI promises a step change in productivity that can help close this capacity gap.”
Following last year’s introduction of OpenSite+, Bentley presented a new wave of AI-powered applications designed to accelerate project delivery across disciplines. These include OpenUtilities Substation+, enhancing collaboration in substation design, and SYNCHRO+, a next-generation construction management solution leveraging AI and geospatial context for advanced planning. “We have been creating a new generation of infrastructure applications built on digital twins, powered by AI, and fully connected to Bentley Infrastructure Cloud,” said Francois Valois, Senior Vice President, Bentley Open Applications. “They show what’s possible when AI is built for real infrastructure workflows and tailored to the needs of engineers.”
Beyond innovation, Bentley reaffirmed its commitment to data stewardship and transparency. Cumins reiterated that users retain full control of their data, emphasizing the company’s principle that “our users’ data is their data, always.” To ensure responsible AI development, Bentley uses only licensed or voluntarily contributed data for model training and introduced a Data Agreement Registry to provide visibility into data use. Cumins underscored that trustworthy AI depends on infrastructure context: “Infrastructure engineers work in a creative profession, but one where precision is non-negotiable and consequences are real. That’s why AI in infrastructure must be grounded in real-world context.”
During the keynote, Moutte announced Bentley Infrastructure Cloud Connect, a new foundational layer that unifies project and asset data across the infrastructure lifecycle. “Infrastructure data lives everywhere—in models, PDFs, inspection forms, photos, IoT sensors, and more—and it’s rarely connected,” he said. “That changes with Bentley Infrastructure Cloud Connect. Infrastructure professionals can access and manage all project and asset data in one place—fully contextualized and connected—from design through construction to operations.”
Bentley also announced the integration of reality modeling services into Cesium, advancing its open platform for the built and natural environment. “Our vision for infrastructure engineering is built on openness,” said Patrick Cozzi, Chief Platform Officer. “With the integration of iTwin and Cesium capabilities, we are creating the open platform for the built and natural environment—providing all the necessary data for infrastructure professionals to design, build, and operate in a real-world context.” The addition of iTwin Capture’s reality modeling to Cesium ion enables automated 3D visualization and AI-driven feature detection, improving decision-making with accurate digital twins of real-world conditions. Bentley also unveiled iTwin Engage, an immersive application for presenting and reviewing digital twins.
The day continued with thematic sessions exploring how digital transformation is reshaping specific sectors. The Connected Cities session examined how AI, geospatial insights, and open data are helping urban areas build resilience and optimize operations, with speakers including Andrius Jurelionis of Kaunas University of Technology, Yuan Lei from China Baowu Engineering & Technology Group, James Moore of Hatch, Richard Vestner of Bentley, and Rebeca Herrera from the City of Madrid.
A subsequent session, “How New Challenges and Technologies Are Reshaping Water Infrastructure,” focused on the evolving role of water as a strategic priority across industries. Speakers included Ben Townsend, Head of Infrastructure and Sustainability at Google; Nuno Medeiros, Head of Asset Management at EPAL; Chloé Meyer, Senior Research Director at Bluefield Research; and Rod Naylor, Global Lead Water at GHD. Cecilia Correia, Water Industry Strategist at Bentley Systems, moderated the session.
Ben Townsend noted that companies developing data centers are increasingly willing to help utilities develop and even invest in them to strengthen water resilience. He highlighted examples of Google's sustainability investments such as leak detection and rainwater harvesting, and emphasized the importance of collaboration with local communities. “Thoughtful developers can work with thoughtful communities on progressive infrastructure planning,” he said.
Nuno Medeiros shared insights from Lisbon’s long history of water reuse, noting that non-potable water has been used to irrigate green areas since the Expo '98. He explained that EPAL (Empresa Portuguesa das Águas Livres) , which serves around 3.8 million people, is working with numerous businesses to reduce freshwater use and improve regulation.
Water reuse is becoming increasingly important worldwide, particularly through collaborative “triangular” partnerships
Chloé Meyer emphasized that water reuse is becoming increasingly important worldwide, particularly through collaborative partnerships. “Wastewater reuse is a growing focus for companies operating data centers,” she noted. “It demonstrates that resilience is now essential for maintaining operations without putting additional pressure on water resources.”
Rod Naylor observed that while the water industry is often slow to adapt, technology is advancing rapidly. He underlined the gap between innovation and regulation, noting that utilities are underfunded and need private-sector collaboration to achieve climate resilience goals. “Innovative partnerships are needed to ensure water safety. Strategy and execution are intertwined and a must,” he said.
Panelists agreed that breaking down silos is key to progress. Meyer noted that closer collaboration between water and wastewater utilities, technology providers, and solution developers is essential to drive new, localized initiatives such as smart irrigation and household water-saving systems.
Concluding the session, Medeiros emphasized that good governance and clear, mutually beneficial partnerships are fundamental. “A good partnership must be a win-win. The goals and objectives of the partnership must be clear. And most importantly, sharing what we are learning and building,” he said.
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