At the 2025 Innovation Summit Copenhagen, Schneider Electric — the global leader in energy management and industrial automation — set out a bold and transformative vision for the future of energy. Under the leadership of its new CEO, Olivier Blum, the company redefined its purpose as the world’s foremost energy technology partner, aiming to shape an economy powered by intelligent, electrified, and automated systems.
A Decade of Change: From Energy Transition to Intelligent Energy
In his first keynote as CEO, Olivier Blum reflected on three decades at Schneider Electric, highlighting how the energy industry has entered a phase of “acceleration and transformation” unseen since the Paris Agreement in 2015.
“Everything we care about — our planet, our people, our partners — depends on energy. But energy today must do more. It must empower us to innovate, compete, and create a sustainable and resilient future,” said Blum.
Blum emphasized that the future of energy lies in combining supply transformation — through renewables and decarbonization — with demand-side intelligence, enabled by electrification and data-driven automation.
Global power demand is projected to rise by 60% in the next 15 years, while renewables like wind and solar are expected to triple their share of generation by 2030. This shift, however, requires not just more energy, but smarter energy — systems that can balance supply and demand dynamically.
The Rise of Electrification: From Homes to Industries
Blum positioned electrification as “the most efficient, cleanest, and most scalable energy vector in the world.” From heat pumps and electric mobility to industrial electrification, Schneider sees a global trend of industries embracing electricity to decarbonize their processes.
The company’s technology portfolio now supports hybrid AC/DC networks, electric grids integrating distributed renewables, and next-generation energy storage.
“We don’t want to be disrupted — we want to be the ones disrupting,” Blum said. “That means developing the best technologies, but also engaging an entire ecosystem of partners, contractors, and system integrators to drive this transformation together.”
Digital + Electric + AI = Sustainable
Over the past decade, Schneider Electric’s mantra — “More Electric + More Digital = More Sustainable” — has evolved into a tangible industrial strategy. The company’s EcoStruxure™ platform now integrates artificial intelligence across energy management, automation, and digital services, forming the backbone of its new vision: energy technology ecosystems that sense, think, and act.
This platform operates across three layers of intelligence:
- Connected Devices – hardware designed “software-first,” capable of sensing and communicating data in real time.
- Edge Control – local computing that allows immediate response to fluctuations in load, demand, and price.
- AI-Driven Analytics – cloud-based optimization for predictive maintenance, performance insights, and sustainability metrics.
“The next generation of EcoStruxure is AI-powered, open, and interoperable,” Blum said. “We’re building a world where energy systems are self-optimizing — from homes and buildings to factories and cities.”
Data Centers and AI Factories: Building the Digital Backbone
The keynote introduced the concept of “AI factories” — data centers that produce digital intelligence as an industrial resource.
Pankaj Sharma, EVP of Secure Power at Schneider Electric, described how the rise of AI, cloud, and immersive computing has created an unprecedented demand for power-dense, liquid-cooled infrastructures.
“There is no intelligence without infrastructure, and no future without sustainability,” Sharma stated.
Schneider Electric’s partnership with NVIDIA and EcoDataCenter has led to the creation of Europe’s first NVIDIA GB200 SuperPod, powering the AI language platform DeepL. The facility houses over 4,000 GPUs and recycles its waste heat into biofuel for local communities, setting a benchmark for sustainable computing.
“Our mission is to deliver more tokens per watt — to generate intelligence efficiently. That’s what energy technology means in the AI era,” added Sharma.
Digital Grids: Decentralized, Data-Driven, and Resilient
As global electrification accelerates, Frederic Godemel, Executive VP for Energy Management, highlighted the need to modernize grids through digitalization and flexibility.
Traditional centralized networks are giving way to distributed, bidirectional energy systems, integrating prosumers, EVs, and renewables. Schneider Electric’s digital grid architecture connects these nodes using AI, sensors, and data platforms like AVEVA PI, creating “future-ready grids.”
Key solutions presented include:
- EcoStruxure Grid Asset Performance – AI-driven asset monitoring that reduces downtime by 75% and maintenance costs by 40%.
- Digital Twin modeling (ETAP) – enables simulation and planning of grid expansion virtually before construction.
- SF₆-free switchgear – replacing greenhouse gases in power infrastructure with sustainable alternatives.
“Without digital grids, there’s no system-level intelligence,” said Philippe Arsonneau, Senior VP for Infrastructure. “Data is the foundation of resilient, sustainable power.”
Industry of the Future: Software-Defined Automation
The industrial segment remains a key growth pillar for Schneider. Gwenaelle Avice-Huet, EVP for Industrial Automation, introduced EcoStruxure Automation Expert, the world’s first open, software-defined automation platform.
Compared to traditional closed systems, the platform allows hardware independence, distributed intelligence, and scalability — much like the evolution from CDs to streaming in music.
Together with AVEVA, Schneider implemented this model in Roslagsvatten, a Swedish municipal water utility managing 270 pumping stations and 25 treatment plants. The result: a real-time digital twin of its network, unified data across legacy systems, and predictive AI that cut energy waste and improved asset reliability.
“Efficiency and intelligence are no longer optional,” said Avice-Huet. “Software-defined automation brings agility, adaptability, and scale — enabling industries to reach new levels of resilience.”
Buildings as Energy Ecosystems
In the building sector, Manish Kumar, EVP of Digital Buildings, emphasized that 30% of global energy consumption occurs in buildings, with a third of that energy wasted. Through AI-driven automation and open data architectures, Schneider aims to transform buildings into net-positive, human-centric environments.
The Sidara headquarters in London — built with Schneider’s EcoStruxure Building and Planon platforms — exemplifies this approach. With over 6,000 sensors, predictive maintenance systems, and real-time AI optimization, the building achieved energy savings, comfort gains, and operational efficiency.
“Buildings can become living, intelligent ecosystems that balance comfort, sustainability, and productivity,” Kumar said.
Partnership and Purpose: A Century of Innovation
Concluding the summit, Olivier Blum reaffirmed Schneider Electric’s identity as both a technology company and an ecosystem builder.
“We don’t just create connected systems — we create ecosystems. AI, data, and people must work together seamlessly,” he said.
For Blum, Schneider’s legacy — from the first fuse to digital twins and quantum computing — reflects a 100-year commitment to innovation, but the company’s purpose remains grounded in its values:
“Everything matters — people, planet, and business. The next cycle of progress will be powered by energy technology that is efficient, intelligent, and sustainable.”
