- Schneider Electric will host its second Innovation Summit Middle East & Africa in Abu Dhabi as electricity demand surges due to AI infrastructure and rapid urbanisation.
- The company aims to position its integrated energy management and software solutions at the centre of the region’s grid expansion and decarbonisation push.
Schneider Electric will host its second annual Innovation Summit Middle East & Africa in Abu Dhabi on April 28–29. The company will convene energy executives, government officials and technology leaders as the region confronts rising electricity demand driven by artificial intelligence infrastructure and rapid urbanisation.
Electricity consumption in the Middle East and North Africa has tripled since 2000. Projections indicate that demand could rise by another 50 per cent by 2035. Cooling systems, desalination plants and large-scale giga-projects continue to stretch regional grids.
Walid Sheta, Zone President for the Middle East and Africa, said energy now underpins national resilience and competitiveness. He noted that annual demand growth of 3 to 4 per cent shows conventional infrastructure cannot keep pace with structural change.
The International Energy Agency projects electricity demand will grow at a compound annual rate of 3.6 per cent through 2030. Industry estimates suggest AI workloads could increase data centre power consumption by 160 per cent. Therefore, Schneider Electric is positioning itself to capture a share of a projected $3 trillion wave of data centre investment.
Abu Dhabi’s selection as host reflects the United Arab Emirates’ ambition to reach net-zero emissions by 2050. At the same time, investments in power generation and cloud infrastructure have strengthened the emirate’s role as a hub for advanced grid solutions.
The summit will include a CEO Forum co-organised with Forbes Middle East and will convene about 100 C-suite executives. Bain & Company will deliver keynote insights. In addition, a 3,000-square-foot Innovation Hub will feature live demonstrations of Schneider Electric’s EcoStruxure platform.
The company states that the platform can cut grid fault recovery times from three hours to three minutes. It has already deployed the solution for Senegal’s national electricity utility as part of grid modernisation efforts.
Schneider Electric will also highlight sustainability milestones. These include removing sulphur hexafluoride from its equipment portfolio and reducing carbon footprints in South African agricultural operations. The company argues that these actions support regional decarbonisation goals.
Furthermore, Schneider Electric will present 25 partner awards across growth, efficiency, innovation and sustainability categories. Analysts view the initiative as a competitive strategy, particularly as ABB Ltd. and Siemens AG compete for energy transition contracts.
Amel Chadli, President of Schneider Electric’s Gulf cluster, described the summit as a commercial inflection point. She said organisations are aligning with national decarbonisation strategies. She added that Schneider aims to help customers transition from basic electrification to AI-enabled, software-defined energy systems.
Schneider Electric has told investors that integrating digital infrastructure with physical grid management creates what it calls “energy intelligence”. The company believes firms that combine hardware and software capabilities can monetise this shift more effectively than traditional equipment makers or pure software providers.
Schneider Electric reported revenue of about €37.8 billion in its latest fiscal year. Energy management accounted for most of those sales. The company continues expanding across the Gulf through partnerships with sovereign funds and public utilities, signalling confidence in long-term regional power demand.