While IT infrastructure such as accelerator servers accounts for a bulk, or 40%, of the investments, the market for infrastructure and utilities – including cooling systems and power distributions units – is significant and nearly equal to the global capex of the solar PV sector. In the wider ecosystems, the growth of data centers has also enabled and added new investments worth hundreds of billions channeled towards new generation assets, grid infrastructure and broader supply chains. For energy market players, data centers are already reshaping markets and represent a generational shift in energy infrastructure investment.

The fundamental asset class in data centers has also started evolving, with data centers above 100 megawatts (MW) emerging as the dominant type. These assets require infrastructure-grade investment, but with a much faster expectation for time-to-power. Data center investments are now being skewed towards hyperscalers and big tech (such as Google (Alphabet), Amazon, Microsoft and Meta), as well as a number of frontier artificial intelligence (AI) labs and global data center operator powerhouses. This is relatively similar to the upstream oil and gas sector, where most of the investments come from oil majors and national oil companies (NOCs).

Investments are also not distributed equally. The largest market, by a fair margin, is the US, which accounted for 42% of the installed capacity in 2025, double that of mainland China – the second-placed market. India followed in third place, with capacity not too significantly higher than the rest of the top 10 markets – which include a mix of countries from North America, Asia Pacific and Europe. However, future investments are likely to be more geographically spread out. As power demand from data centers rises above 10% in many countries, constraints in terms of access to power, land availability and other infrastructures will push operators to find new markets, and these players are expected to bring capital investments along with them. By 2030, based on our risked view of installed capacity, we will see strong growth in markets such as Finland, Portugal and Thailand.  

Beneficiaries of this growth in the energy sector have started to emerge. Grid upgrades and demand for equipment – from gas turbines and transformers to fuel cells – have boosted performance of the original equipment manufacturers (OEMs). Siemens Energy, which offers grid and power generation equipment, has seen its share price rally by over 10 times since January 2024, while the share price of Bloom Energy – an OEM of solid oxide fuel cells – grew at a similar pace over that period. Shares of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries have grown six times since the start of 2024, and GE Vernova has grown 2.5 times since January 2025.

As with all cases of growth, this boom is not without risks. The various constraints, supply chain delays and disruptions are not likely to be solved in the next few years, which carries a chance of a further spike in prices. While revenues from leading companies are growing exponentially, the sector will need to enter the realm of oil and gas revenue to sustain the level of investments. With the emergence of new demand and applications of AI each week, this AI-fueled infrastructure investment supercycle is likely to continue in the coming years until a more stable investment environment is established or demanded.

Authors:

Dr. Minh Khoi Le
Head of Data Center & Hydrogen
Minh.Khoi.Le@rystadenergy.com

Fredrik Ellekjær
Global Head of New Energies
Fredrik.Ellekjaer@rystadenergy.com

Rystad Talks Energy | Powering the AI era: Data centers, energy markets and infrastructure risks

The rapid expansion of data centers is emerging as a new frontier for energy demand, reshaping power markets worldwide. In this edition of Rystad Talks Energy, we explore how AI-driven growth in digital infrastructure is reshaping power systems, infrastructure investment, and the energy value chain, and what this means for markets over the next decade.

Watch the webinar on demand here.