The future will be electric!
Pierre Schang, Co-Head of Impact & Environment and Fund Manager, LFDE | March 2026
While the world has been steadily electrifying at a rate of 3% to 4% per year since the mid-20th century, the large-scale deployment of data centres and humanoid robots is generating such demand that electricity supply will be insufficient in certain parts of the world in the medium term. Which sectors and companies stand to benefit from this unprecedented acceleration?
Renewables, quick to deploy
The massive deployment of data centres in the United States is driving strong growth in electricity demand and a steep rise in prices, forcing the country to deploy new electricity generation capacity. This situation is reshuffling the cards and opening up opportunities for renewable energies – Brookfield Renewables, HASI – which have many advantages in this context: they are inexpensive and easy to deploy quickly. It takes less than two years to build a wind farm or solar farm, with selling prices of $40 to $80 per electron. By contrast, construction time for a nuclear power plant is 10 to 20 years, with a selling price of $80 to $140 per electron; for a gas-fired power plant, it is more than six years due to the global shortage of gas turbines, with selling prices of $50 to $110 per electron. In Europe, although the deployment of data centres is not as rapid, the energy sovereignty imperative is more pronounced than in the United States. In this spirit, the European Commission launched the REPowerEU initiative in 2022, aiming to increase the share of renewable energy in the EU’s energy consumption to 42.5% by 2030. This is stimulating growth for companies such as EDPR and Orsted.
Transporting electrons
The shift in the energy mix towards electricity is putting a strain on electron transport networks, whose capacity, reliability and size are no longer adequate. The massive power outage on the Iberian Peninsula in April 2025 provides a spectacular example. Upgrading these networks, led by players such as Elia, requires an unprecedented wave of investment. Additionally, differing energy mixes are driving the development of interconnections, which in turn require high-tech copper cables (Prysmian).
And tomorrow, humanoids
The rapid electrification of industry, driven notably by the deployment of AI in production processes and the construction of thousands of data centres worldwide, is causing growth shocks for specialist companies such as Schneider Electric and Eaton. This will be further accentuated by humanoid robots, such as those of UBTech and Tesla, which will leverage the entire electrification value chain. Morgan Stanley analysts anticipate that there will be nearly a billion humanoids by 2050, powered by high-performance electronic components and batteries.
The world’s electrification will continue, driven by widespread innovation. In addition to AI deployment – one of the key short-term catalysts – substantial growth will be driven by the emergence of Industry 5.0 and the rise of humanoids from 2035 onwards. This represents unprecedented potential for selective investors.
Disclaimers: These data and opinions, as well as the sectors and securities mentioned, are provided for informational purposes only and do not constitute an offer to buy or sell a security, investment advice or financial analysis.