French group Schneider Electric has signed a $1.9bn (approximately €1.77bn) contract with American operator Switch to provide industrial solutions for data centres in the United States. The agreement covers one of the largest cooling projects ever undertaken in North America, including the first national deployment of Schneider Electric’s Uniflair chillers.
The contract includes the delivery of prefabricated power modules and the deployment of cooling infrastructure tailored to the requirements of hyperscaler data centres. This segment is expanding rapidly due to the growing adoption of artificial intelligence applications, which require high computing capacities and prompt operators to strengthen their infrastructures.
Strategic deployment to meet AI growth
According to Schneider Electric’s internal projections, artificial intelligence is expected to account for over 35% of global data centre workloads by 2030. This trend could drive a 160% increase in energy consumption at these facilities, adding pressure on cooling and power systems.
The project is described as “Schneider Electric’s largest cooling services commitment to date”, enabling deeper collaboration with Switch, seen as a major player in the design, construction and operation of high-performance data centre campuses.
Industrial partnership strengthened in the US
The agreement highlights Schneider Electric’s intention to expand its industrial footprint in the United States, leveraging the vertical integration of its solutions in a market increasingly dominated by digital technologies. The selection of Switch for this strategic contract comes amid growing investment in digital infrastructure.
The announcement was made during Schneider Electric’s “Innovation Summit” in Las Vegas, enhancing the group’s visibility in the North American market and its capacity to support operators scaling up AI technologies.
