Australia is moving fast to secure its digital sovereignty through new AI “factories” and national-scale data centres.  In this episode of Intelligence Optimised Podcast, Todd Crowley speaks with Pete McCrystal about the Firmus–CDC–Nvidia alliance and the national push to establish “AI factories” across multiple states. Together, they unpack what sovereign capability really means when applied to the digital domain.

In this episode:
✔️ Firmus–CDC–Nvidia alliance — and what “sovereign” control means in practice.
✔️ Energy and cooling needs for AI-scale data centres within Renewable Energy Zones.
✔️ Why infrastructure planners and policymakers must align on grid stability and capability uplift.
✔️ Lessons from global outages and liability risks when AI systems self-modify.
✔️ The practical meaning of the Critical Infrastructure Act for data, AI, and national control.
✔️ What success by 2028 could look like — from 3D-printed defence parts to domestic manufacturing revival.

Listeners gain a grounded view of how AI, energy, and infrastructure intersect in national resilience. The episode offers practical steps for policy, defence, and ICT leaders who need to prepare for an AI-enabled economy without ceding control of the core systems that power it.

For Policy advisers, CIOs, defence planners, infrastructure executives, and anyone shaping Australia’s AI and energy strategy across the Indo-Pacific, this is a practical guide.

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