Schneider Electric set to invest more than $700mn in US energy sector
Exclusive: Schneider Electric set to invest over $700mn in US energy sector
Schneider Electric is set to invest over $700mn in the US energy sector over the next couple of years, the largest single planned investment in the company’s 135-year history in the American market.
The French industrial giant told Energy Source that the investment would create more than 1,000 new jobs and that the “vast majority” of capital would be directed towards the manufacturing of electrical equipment, including expansions in its factories in Missouri, Ohio and Tennessee.
“There’s an industrial renaissance happening in the US. It requires us to think differently about energy systems, about resiliency, about efficiency, about interactions with the grid, and frankly, about automation,” Aamir Paul, Schneider Electric’s head of North America, told Energy Source.
The announcement arrives as the US electricity system undergoes a historic surge in power demand driven by the race to lead in artificial intelligence and the renewed focus on domestic manufacturing.
US electricity consumption, which is at record highs, is expected to grow by another 16 per cent by 2029, according to think-tank Grid Strategies.
In addition to expanding manufacturing capacity, Schneider Electric is opening a laboratory in Massachusetts to test power systems for the AI data centre market and an innovation centre in Texas. While the latter project was announced at the S&P Global CERAWeek energy conference earlier this month, today’s announcement marks the first time the company has made public its cumulative capital plans to invest in the US market.
Schneider Electric’s investment comes amid a flurry of large manufacturing commitments across corporate America in the first months of Trump’s presidency as executives seek to minimise tariff threats.
Paul denied the role that Trump’s economic policy played in the company’s announcement and called for more clarity on the US president’s tariff plans. North America is the largest and fastest-growing market for the French company, making up 36 per cent of revenue, according to Schneider Electric.
“We have to respond, like everybody, in the market where the conditions change. But at this point, we’re looking for more clarity on that,” Paul said.