On March 17, 2025, we will pass through the Digital Reality Data Center building in Asiburn, Virginia, USA.
Rear Miris | Reuters
Sovereign wealth fund ADQ and Capital Partner (ECP), an American private equity company energy company, have signed an agreement for a $25 billion investment partnership dedicated to increasing power generation, primarily in the US, to meet the needs of data centers, the company announced Wednesday.
The partnership is “purposed to serve the growth needs of data centers, hyperscale cloud companies and other energy-intensive industries,” reads a joint statement from the company. “The need for close POW power plants is often a prerequisite because continuity and quality of electricity supply is so important for these high-growth industries. Partnerships focus on meeting these needs in the long run.”
The 50-50 partnership will deploy capital with the goal of investing more than $25 billion in projects worth 25 gigawatts through greenfield site development, new builds and expansion of current infrastructure.
Founded in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates in 2018, ADQ focuses on investment in critical infrastructure and global supply chains, but ECP is the largest private owner of ADQ’s $225 billion in assets’ power and renewable energy assets, with ECP exceeding $3.1 billion in capital commitments in 2005.
The announcement of the partnership will be made at a rapid rate of increased electricity needs. After nearly 15 years of new data centers, factories, electric vehicles and fueled over the hotter and longer summers, electricity demand is set to surge in the US.
And with tech giants like Microsoft, Amazon and Google taking the lead and competing in the artificial intelligence revolution, the data centers needed to drive burgeoning technologies consume ever-growing amounts of energy.
In a December 2024 report, the US Department of Energy estimates that load growth for US data centers has tripled over the past decade, with data center power usage forecasting to double or triple by 2028.
According to the 2024 International Energy Agency Report, the US data center sector is “expected to account for more than a third of additional demand through 2026.” Globally, data center total electricity consumption could reach over 1,000 terawatt hours (TWH) in 2026. This is “almost comparable to Japan’s electricity consumption,” the IAE said, starting from an estimated 460 TWH in 2022.
The UAE’s AI Ambition
The deal comes as ADQ Chairman and UAE national security adviser Sheikh Tanoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan visited Washington to meet political and business leaders such as President Donald Trump and Elon Musk.
The UAE is working to strengthen its relationship with the US with AI, seeking greater access to American technology to build its own infrastructure and diversify its economy from hydrocarbons.
Small and oil-rich Gulf Shake Dam has been pursuing investments in artificial intelligence, data centers and energy transition technologies as AI-dominated competition gathers pace.
Last year, UAE Investment Fund MGX formed a consortium in collaboration with Microsoft and BlackRock, achieving its initial goal of investing more than $30 billion in US AI-related projects on Thursday. nvidia And Musk’s Xai announced that they will be taking part in the project.
