Global electricity consumption is forecast to grow at close to 4% annually through to 2027 as power use climbs in a range of sectors, according to an International Energy Agency (IEA) report. This energy increase creates competition for industrial gases for the renewables that are needed to drive the energy transition – in particular for green hydrogen but also to improve the sustainability of power-hungry ASUs.
What’s the main driver of this energy build-out? There are many facets, but one of the key demand drivers is data centre power consumption, as data and digital use continues to soar at a time when technology is increasingly pivotal to our workplaces and homes – and set to be even more integral in an age of artificial intelligence (AI).
The energy system that has been built over the last 100 years needs to be rebuilt, or at least reimagined, to serve today’s new tech needs, which presents a major undertaking.
Google, Microsoft, and Amazon spent more on AI and data centres in 2023 than the entire US oil and gas sector, amounting to 0.5% of US GDP.
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