Key Questions on Energy and AI – International Energy Agency

The AI and energy nexus continues to evolve rapidly
The largest technology companies are contributing to a surge in data centre investment, as their capital expenditure exceeded USD 400 billion in 2025 – and is expected to jump by another 75% in 2026. Capital expenditure of just five technology companies is now larger than global investment in oil and natural gas production. Many jurisdictions are seeing project pipelines accelerate dramatically, although not all projects will come to fruition. Those that are moving forward are doing so at pace: the IEA’s unique satellite-based tracking shows that “artificial intelligence (AI) factories” – cutting-edge data centres specifically designed for AI – have more than tripled in capacity in the past 18 months. Meanwhile, the capabilities of AI are improving quickly, increasing the likelihood that it will reshape economic growth, innovation and competitiveness and disrupt established industries and jobs.
In April 2025, the IEA published its landmark Energy and AI report, which provided first-of its-kind global analysis on the links between AI and energy. Since then, the field has evolved rapidly: new questions have emerged and new data has come to light. This report builds on the foundation of previous work, providing fresh analysis on key issues. It covers the outlook for data centre electricity demand considering recent market developments; innovations in powering data centres; and the implications of these trends for energy security, affordability, competitiveness and overall energy demand.