Stories
Hitachi Energy CEO Warns Industry Cannot Keep Up With Surging Power Demand
- •Hitachi Energy CEO Andreas Schierenbeck stated that global demand for electricity infrastructure currently outpaces supply.
- •The company is investing over $9 billion globally, but long lead times for manufacturing facilities and grid projects hinder rapid expansion.
- •Schierenbeck emphasized the need for long-term customer partnerships, framework agreements, and better demand visibility to accelerate investments.
- •The rapid growth of artificial intelligence, industrial electrification, and electric vehicles are significantly driving up power grid demands.
Key Questions Answered
Global CEO Andreas Schierenbeck stated that demand and supply are out of balance because long manufacturing and grid expansion lead times—ranging from 3 to 15 years—make it difficult to respond quickly. Additionally, the rapid growth of artificial intelligence and data centers has drastically amplified electricity consumption.
Hitachi Energy advocates for long-term customer commitments, framework agreements, and advance capacity reservations rather than traditional transactional orders. These measures provide companies with the necessary demand visibility and confidence to justify spending hundreds of millions on new factories.
India ranks among Hitachi Energy's top five global markets and serves as a key base for domestic manufacturing and technical engineering. Operating under an India for India and India for the world strategy, the company is expanding facilities like its Chennai engineering center to support both local infrastructure needs and international operations.
