As the International Energy Agency (IEA) reports more than 2,500 gigawatts of projects in grid-connection queues, Hitachi Energy and Ansaldo Energia signed a memorandum Friday, Oct. 16, to develop integrated systems for large electricity users.
The companies identified data centers, energy hubs and other high-demand sites as potential applications. Ansaldo Energia would contribute gas-turbine and generator technologies, while Hitachi Energy would bring grid integration capabilities that include high-voltage equipment, transformers, automation and power electronics. The companies plan to develop systems for markets using both 50 Hz and 60 Hz power.
Hitachi Energy also plans to bring its power solutions together with HMAX Data Center through One Hitachi. Hitachi Energy CEO Andreas Schierenbeck said power demand “continues to outpace available infrastructure.”
The companies point to electrification across digital infrastructure, industry and transportation as a driver of demand. In its Electricity 2026 outlook, the IEA projects global electricity use will grow by an average of 3.6% a year from 2026 through 2030, citing industry, electric vehicles, air conditioning and data centers.
A separate IEA projection in World Energy Outlook 2024 puts global demand at 50,000 terawatt-hours in 2050, up from 26,000 TWh in 2023, under the agency’s Stated Policies Scenario. The grid-connection queue includes renewable energy, storage and large loads such as data centers, the IEA says. It estimates annual grid investment would need to rise about 50% from today’s $400 billion to meet projected demand through 2030.
Hitachi Energy says the planned solutions are intended to help customers secure reliable power faster. The announcements name no customer or project location and provide no deployment date, investment plan, cost allocation or commercial timetable.
