Schneider Electric Research Institute

U.S. electricity demand is entering a period of faster growth. Data centers, manufacturing, and the electrification of buildings and transport are all adding pressure to a power system that takes years to expand. Our research with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory models alternative futures through 2050. Both point to the same conclusion: the U.S. needs an additional 1,000 TWh of electricity by 2030, and electricity's share of total energy use must rise well beyond the 23% level it's held for the past 15 years. Some capacity can come online sooner. Distributed energy resources, including rooftop solar, batteries, and smart controls, can help manage peaks and make better use of existing infrastructure while larger grid projects advance. Access the report in the comments. #Electrification #DistributedEnergy #RenewableEnergy

Energy poverty isn't a single problem. It encompasses access to lower-income countries, affordability in higher-income ones, and reliability in between. Our recent report traces each challenge to a different set of conditions. Lower-income countries often lack grid access altogether. Higher-income countries have access but face prices that put basic energy needs out of reach for some households. Middle-income countries frequently have grid connections that are unreliable when demand peaks. The research points to distributed generation and community participation as ways to improve access and resilience. It also argues that energy projects should be evaluated against their broader social, economic, and environmental effects. Access the report in the comments #EnergyPoverty #Grid #FutureOfEnergy

U.S. electricity demand is set to grow by roughly 1,000 terawatt-hours over the next decade, with AI accounting for 40 to 50% of that increase. At the Semafor World Economy Summit in Washington, D.C., Vincent Petit, SVP of the Schneider Electric Research Institute, spoke with Jeff Kavanaugh of the Infosys Knowledge Institute about what this means for infrastructure. He argues that the binding constraint is grid architecture rather than energy supply. The grid remains significantly underutilized because of peak demand patterns, and demand-side AI optimization could reduce peak load by up to 60%, buying roughly a decade of runway. Watch "Power, AI, and Infrastructure: Vincent Petit on the Next 1,000 Days" http://spr.ly/6045B1Duif #Electrification #AIInfrastructure #InfoSys

Hard-to-abate sectors including steel, cement, aluminum, chemicals, aviation, shipping, and heavy-duty trucking account for roughly 40% of global industrial emissions. Decarbonizing them is estimated to require about $30 trillion in capital by 2050, with nearly 70% of it needed before 2040. Our report, supported by Brazil's Ministry of Development, Industry, Trade and Services, examines why supply-push policy alone has not mobilized capital at that scale, and assesses five demand-side instruments that can drive: green public procurement, carbon contracts for difference, advanced market commitments, performance standards, and carbon pricing with border adjustments. Access the report in comments. #IndustrialDecarbonization #ClimatePolicy #EnergyResearch

As EV adoption accelerates, commercial buildings must do more than add chargers—they need to manage energy demand. Our latest research moves beyond the "why" of smart charging to quantify the business case. By analyzing 65 use cases across 13 regions, we identified where building owners can reduce peak demand, avoid costly electrical upgrades, lower energy costs, and in many markets, achieve payback in less than a year. The bottom line? Smart charging isn't just an EV strategy—it's a practical investment that helps buildings control costs, increase resilience, protect the grid and prepare for the future. Read the new blog on this research: http://spr.ly/6043BE2GzT #EVCharging #SmartBuildings #EnergyManagement

Welcome to 𝗜𝘀𝘀𝘂𝗲 #𝟯 of The Electrification Brief, where we uncover a massive blind spot in the AI boom: $388 billion in global data center value carries unpriced climate risk. Read on for our full data center analysis, plus new research on industrial decarbonization, AI microgrids, and the market signals we’re tracking this month. #AIDatacenters #ClimateRisk #Electrification

Every day, technology decisions are helping to drive the energy transition. Building upgrades, EV charging, industrial electrification, and onsite energy systems are shifting more energy demand to electricity. Ember’s “The Electrotech Revolution” report says that electrification and modernization technologies can be about three times as efficient as burning fossil fuels. It also points to evidence that fossil fuel energy consumption may already have peaked across most industrial sectors, including cement and steel production. The pace will vary by region and sector, but the pattern is clear: as buildings, transportation, and industry modernize, electricity’s role in the economy continues to grow. Access the Electrotech Revolution Report and our blog in the comments. #Electrotech #Electrification #EnergyResearch

𝙃𝙤𝙬 𝙘𝙡𝙞𝙢𝙖𝙩𝙚 𝙧𝙞𝙨𝙠 𝙞𝙨 𝙨𝙚𝙘𝙧𝙚𝙩𝙡𝙮 𝙧𝙚𝙥𝙧𝙞𝙘𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙥𝙪𝙩𝙚. The AI infrastructure boom is being built on assets that aren't priced for climate risk. In Episode 03 of Triple Take: Quick Questions, Straight Answers, our researchers, Rémi Paccou and Thomas Epelbaum, explain how large that gap is, what it means for the industry's economics, and how proactive adaptation can protect billions in infrastructure investments. Watch the episode: https://lnkd.in/dma43q9j #AIInfrastructure #ClimateRisk #Datacenter

Last month at London Climate Action Week, our SVP of Climate and Energy Research, Vincent Petit, was fortunate enough to attend the Energy After Fire event: an event focused on the Electrotech Revolution. Many thanks to Kingsmill Bond, Daan Walter from Ember and Susan Kish from Constructive for convening it, and to Greg Jackson and Octopus Energy for hosting it. Vincent's key takeaway from this event is straightforward: the energy transition is happening now. Electrotech solutions are scaling rapidly. PV, Batteries, and EVs are becoming dominant forces in the new energy landscape. The group discussed many dimensions of this transition: technology and innovation, the new geopolitics of energy and electrification, and where Europe stands in this transition. Fantastic presentations from many great experts: Ann Mettler, Simon Morrish, Jonas Birgersson, Tatiana Mitrova, Harry Krejsa, Thijs Van de Graaf, Sarah Ladislaw, Michael Liebreich, Jules Kortenhorst, Andy Hackett, Daan Walter, Assaad Razzouk, Oscar Luo, and Danny Kennedy. Vincent's remarks were focused on the link between AI and Electrification. Of course, a lot of the conversation today revolves around the impact of data centers growth on electricity demand. He argued we’re only seeing the tip of the iceberg here. The growth in AI fuels a structural transformation of the economy, and of the energy backbone that supports it. On the one hand, more AI means more chips, more network equipment, more smart devices manufacturing. On the other hand, AI fuels a structural transformation of industrial processes toward more electrification. All in all, we may be dramatically underestimating the level of electricity demand growth in the coming decade. Could we reach 40,000TWh of global electricity demand within the coming decade (double 2015 levels)? #LondonClimateActionWeek #Electrotech #AI

Green steel costs depend partly on how power is sourced and stored. We modeled energy systems that keep a grid connection while adding onsite renewable generation and hydrogen storage. These configurations produced a levelized cost of steel 12% to 15% below the modeled grid-only alternatives and reduced emissions by 46% to 84% compared with conventional steelmaking routes. In these systems, hydrogen does two jobs: it supports steel production and stores energy when renewable generation or electricity prices change. Access the full report in the comments. #GreenSteel #RenewableEnergy #HydrogenStorage