Schneider Electric identifies AI among trends reshaping the world

Energy technology company Schneider Electric has identified artificial intelligence and other technologies as some of the trends reshaping the world. The company made this known at a keynote address in Lagos, Nigeria. Other technologies in the category include digitization, energy transition, and global rebalancing.

The revelation was made by Walid Sheta, Schneider Electric’s Zone President for the Middle East and Africa, at the company’s Innovation Day Nigeria 2025 speech. The event, themed “Competitive Advantage Through Automation and Sustainability,” hosted attendees from far and wide in the energy industry.

In his speech, Sheta mentioned that the demand for data center capacity is expected to double, even as over 60 million Nigerians remain offline.

Schneider Electric discusses artificial intelligence in Nigeria

During the event, Sheta outlined the evolution of energy and the position of Schneider Electric in the vision of partnership for all customers and partners in Nigeria. He highlighted that the world is being reshaped by four megatrends, noting energy transition, digitization and artificial intelligence, infrastructure development, and rebalancing.

Sheta mentioned that the transition to electricity is now urgent, as more people are seeing that it is an efficient form of energy. In his statement, Sheta added that electrification is very important in the world of tomorrow as it provides an avenue for efficiency.

“We are transitioning to electrification, which is now reaching everywhere, from commercial equipment in energy, buildings, and industries, down to homes. Electricity demand is expected to grow by 27per cent between 2023 and 2030. Battery Storage Capacity must grow from 86GW to 760GW by 2030,” he said.

He also highlighted that in Nigeria, renewable energy makes up about 10% of the total power generation, with national targets set at 30% by 2030 and between 40% and 50% by 2026. “As each state strives for energy independence, more generations will be required to drive the economic transformation. These global trends are not unique to Nigeria; Africa and Asia are witnessing similar shifts, with West Africa already feeling the momentum of this global transition,” he added.

Sheta discusses worldwide trends

Speaking on digitization and artificial intelligence, he noted that the adoption of ChatGPT was about 70 times faster than the World Wide Web, underscoring how fast technologies are evolving. By 2030, Sheta notes that the global spend on artificial intelligence is expected to rise by 168%.“In Nigeria, the demand for data centre capacity is expected to double, yet over 60 million Nigerians remain offline, highlighting the growing need for both AI for Energy and Energy for AI,” he said.

Sheta added that Schneider Electric is partnering with Nvidia to accelerate the development and deployment of artificial intelligence factories at scale. “The EcoStruxure for Data Centres solution, deployed in DATAXION, the first Tier III-certified data centre in Tunisia and North Africa, achieved a 35per cent reduction in energy usage and a 30per cent reduction in operational costs,” Sheta said.

In terms of infrastructure, he noted a need to improve infrastructure, empower communities, and enhance technical capabilities across important sectors like energy, transportation, electricity, and roads. Sheta mentioned that the trend is not only increasing in Nigeria, but in other parts of the world. He highlighted the use case of Schneider Electric’s EcoStroxure solutions across the trends to include Eko Atlantic City.

The company provided uninterrupted energy distribution through its EcoStruxure for Buildings to electrify 99% of Eko Atlantic City’s electricity. The initial output was 11kV before being scaled to 132kV. 

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