AI-driven growth of hyperscale data centers is driving unprecedented power use – global data-center electricity demand is projected to double by 2030carbonbrief.org. Cutting-edge AI chips draw up to 1,200 watts each, so new racks can exceed 100 kW, far above historical normsspectrum.ieee.org. This surge is straining grids: U.S. utilities report contracts for 47 GW of new data centersreuters.com. Environmental impacts include rising carbon and huge water use: data centers now consume ~1% of global powercarbonbrief.org, and large AI sites can use millions of gallons of water per day for coolingeesi.org. In response, industry is racing to deploy immersion and liquid cooling, on-site power, and AI-driven thermal managementspectrum.ieee.orgnews.microsoft.com. Major tech players and utilities are deeply involved: e.g. Nvidia’s market cap topped $5 trillion in Oct. 2025reuters.com, Microsoft and Alphabet near $4Treuters.com, while utilities are lifting earnings forecasts on booming power demandreuters.comreuters.com.
