Applications: Data Centers

Data Center Boom & Outlook

Global installed data center capacity surpassed 100 GW by early 2025. AI is a major driver of rising electricity demand relative to traditional data center workloads. This is particularly noticeable in the hyperscale segment, where most new data centers are designed primarily to support AI training and inference.

AI data centers with high-density GPUs require gigawatt-scale power, but grid interconnection delays of 211 years and capacity constraints are pushing hyperscalers such as AWS, Google, Meta, and Microsoft to build proprietary data center campuses with on-site power generation and energy storage

Clean technologies - often combining natural gas, renewables, and battery storage - will increasingly supplement or replace constrained grid supply

Batteries, including UPS, BBU, and BESS, deliver resiliency, smooth AI-driven power fluctuations, provide grid services, and enable time-shifting; BESS alone could unlock 76 GW of new capacity through rapid backup and peak shaving

Source: IEA, Flexgen, Traxtech

Global Installed Data Centre Capacity GW

Extracted from the PDF; charts and images may read imperfectly.