Chongqing - At the 19th Chongqing Mayor's International Economic Advisory Council (CMIA), Hitachi Energy CEO Andreas Schierenbeck noted that the rapid rise of artificial intelligence is straining existing power systems and called for faster investment in the electricity grid to keep up.
Andreas Schierenbeck, CEO of Hitachi Energy. (Photo/Zheng Ran)
"AI and data centers are reshaping the energy landscape faster than anticipated. The real bottleneck for AI isn't data or chips – it's power," Schierenbeck said in remarks. "Those who deliver abundant, reliable electricity at scale will unlock AI's full potential."
He advised Chongqing to expand grid investment, deploy scalable AI-driven solutions in grid operations, align energy policy with AI development, strengthen domestic and international cooperation, and prioritize the cultivation of AI talent.
Schierenbeck linked his recommendations to Hitachi Energy’s long presence in Chongqing. The company’s transformer plant, established as a joint venture in 1998, was recently relocated to the Liangjiang New Area.
He highlighted that the Chongqing facility is the largest transformer plant in Hitachi Energy’s global network, with output split evenly between China’s domestic grid and overseas markets.
Schierenbeck said demand for grid equipment is outpacing the industry's ability to keep up. "We are growing constantly double-digit, there's more demand than we could supply as an industry," he said, pointing to structural shifts such as the electrification of transportation and heavy industry, as well as the rapid build-out of solar and wind power.
According to the International Energy Agency, global electricity consumption by data centers is expected to more than double to about 945 terawatt-hours by 2030, with AI projected to account for the largest share of that growth.
He added that AI is a key driver of this momentum- not only accelerating orders for Hitachi Energy's core products, but also pushing the company to modernize its own operations through smart production methods and quality improvements on its manufacturing lines.
Hitachi Energy eyes next phase in Chongqing
For Chongqing, Schierenbeck tied the city's AI ambitions to reliable power. He said he was told by the mayor that the municipality maintained sufficient electricity this summer thanks to recent upgrades. Despite record demand topping 30 million kilowatts during two heatwaves, the city avoided shortages.
Schierenbeck highlighted ultra-high-voltage direct current (UHVDC) projects as central to that effort. Hitachi Energy supplied transformers and valves to the Hami–Chongqing ±800 kV UHVDC line, which started operating in June. The 2,260-kilometer project carries renewable power from Xinjiang to Chongqing, with an annual capacity of more than 36 billion kilowatt-hours. State energy planners say it is Southwest China's first UHVDC receive-in project, designed to stabilize supply and meet the region's fast-rising electricity demand.
Beyond power equipment, the CEO placed Chongqing's AI ambitions within a broader industrial context. Chongqing is one of China's key automotive hubs and has reported rapid growth in new energy vehicle (NEV) output; official releases noted more than 953,200 NEVs were produced in 2024 as part of a push toward intelligent, electrified manufacturing.
National policy designates the Chengdu–Chongqing economic circle as one of China’s integrated computing hubs under the “Eastern Data, Western Computing” initiative. The strategy shifts energy-intensive data centers to resource-rich western regions while distributing computing workloads nationwide. Its goal is to develop national data-center clusters that balance land, energy, and water resources with the growing demand from artificial intelligence.
Schierenbeck said Hitachi Energy's Chongqing transformer plant is already operating at full capacity, and the company is now thinking about the next stage to put more resources into.
City officials are also promoting "AI Plus," a program to apply AI across industries and city management. Schierenbeck said Hitachi Energy is prepared to try out everything at its Chongqing plant to make it more efficient and use it as a test bed for AI Plus.