Schneider Electric, a global leader in energy management and automation, has established its Global Innovation Hubs as key centers for technological advancement, collaboration, and sustainable development. These hub facilities serve as ecosystems where cutting-edge solutions in energy efficiency, industrial automation, and digital transformation are designed, tested, and deployed to address the world’s most pressing energy and sustainability challenges. Energy Management and Industrial Automation Focus Strategically located around the world, Schneider Electric’s Global Innovation Hubs are positioned to drive regional and global innovation in energy management and industrial automation. The hubs focus on developing smart, connected, and sustainable solutions across various sectors, including data centers, smart buildings, industrial automation, and renewable energy. Key aspects of the Schneider Global Innovation Hubs include: Collaboration and Co-Innovation: Partnering with startups, industry leaders, and research institutions to accelerate innovation. Fostering an open ecosystem where ideas can be rapidly developed and tested. Digital Transformation and Automation: Leveraging IoT, AI, and cloud technologies to enhance energy efficiency. Implementing digital twin technology for real-time monitoring and predictive maintenance. Sustainability and Energy Efficiency: Developing solutions that contribute to decarbonization and net-zero emissions. Creating energy-efficient systems for buildings, industries, and critical infrastructure. Customer-focused Innovation: Offering live demonstrations, simulation environments, and test labs for customers. Customizing solutions to meet specific industry challenges and regulatory requirements. Schneider’s Andover R&D Lab Highlights While there are 11 hubs worldwide to give the global customer base more convenient locations where they can evaluate Schneider product, the new lab facilities have also been added to one of the company’s five global R&D locations. The selected location is co-located with Schneider’s US research labs in Andover, Massachusetts. With the addition of these two new labs there are now 41 labs located in Andover. Over the last year, Schneider Electric has invested approximately $2.4 billion in R&D. The

Ryan Baumann, Rehlko: Industry leaders are taking bold steps to secure long-term energy availability by embracing innovative backup power solutions, forming strategic partnerships, and exploring alternative energy sources. To overcome the challenges ahead, collaboration is key—operators, utilities, OEMs, and technology providers must come together, share insights, and create customized solutions that keep energy both reliable and sustainable as the landscape evolves. One of the most significant strategies is the growing use of alternative energy sources like hydrogen, natural gas, and even nuclear to ensure a steady supply of power. These options provide a more flexible, reliable backup to grid power, especially in markets with fluctuating energy demands or limited infrastructure. Emergency generator systems, when equipped with proper emissions treatment, can also support the grid through peak shaving or interruptible rate programs with utilities. Hydrogen fuel cells, in particular, are becoming a game-changer for backup power. Offering zero-emission, scalable, and efficient solutions, hydrogen is helping data centers move toward their carbon-neutral goals while addressing energy reliability. When integrated into a microgrid, hydrogen fuel cells create a cohesive energy network that can isolate from the main grid during power outages, ensuring continuous energy security for critical infrastructure like data centers. Additionally, natural gas Central Utility Plants (CUPs) are emerging as a key bridging power source, helping large data centers in grid-constrained regions maintain operations until permanent utility power is available. Smart energy solutions, including customized paralleling systems, allow emergency assets to be grid-intertied, enabling utilities and communities to share power burdens during peak periods. By embracing these innovative solutions and fostering collaboration, the industry not only ensures reliable power for today’s data centers but also paves the way for a more sustainable and resilient energy future. Next:  Cooling Imperatives for Managing High-Density AI Workloads 

With Apple’s announcement to spend $500 billion over the next four years briefly overshadowing the $500 billion joint venture announcement of the Stargate project with the federal government, you can almost be forgiven for losing track of the billions of dollars in data center and tech spending announced by other industry players. Apple’s Four-Year, $500 Billion Spend Resonates with Tech The company’s data center infrastructure will see some collateral improvement to support future AI efforts, as a percentage of the funding will be dedicated to enhancing their existing data center infrastructure, though as yet there has been no public discussion of new data center facilities. Apple has committed to spending over $500 billion in the U.S. during the next four years.  This investment aims to bolster various sectors, including AI infrastructure, data centers, and research and development (R&D) in silicon engineering. The initiative also encompasses expanding facilities and teams across multiple states, such as Texas, California, Arizona, Nevada, Iowa, Oregon, North Carolina, and Washington. The spend will be a combination of investments in new infrastructure components along with the expansion of existing facilities. What has been publicly discussed includes the following: New AI Server Manufacturing Facility in Houston, Texas A significant portion of this investment is allocated to constructing a 250,000-square-foot manufacturing facility in Houston, Texas. Scheduled to open in 2026, this facility will produce servers designed to power Apple Intelligence, the company’s AI system. These servers, previously manufactured abroad, will now be assembled domestically, enhancing energy efficiency and security for Apple’s data centers. The project is expected to create thousands of jobs in the region. Expansion of Data Center Capacity Apple plans to increase its data center capacity in several states, including North Carolina, Iowa, Oregon, Arizona, and Nevada. This expansion aims to support the growing demands of AI

By colocating data centers with geothermal plants, operators could tap into a clean, baseload power source that aligns with their sustainability goals. Operators could reduce transmission losses and enhance energy efficiency. Meanwhile, the paper points out that one of the most promising aspects of geothermal energy is its scalability. The Rhodium Group estimates that the U.S. has the technical potential to generate up to 5,000 GW of geothermal power—far exceeding the current and projected needs of the data center industry. With the right investments and policy support, Rhodium contends that geothermal could become a cornerstone of the industry’s energy strategy. The researchers project that 55-64% of the anticipated growth in hyperscale data center capacity could be met with behind-the-meter geothermal power, representing 15-17 GW of new capacity. In 13 of the 15 largest data center markets, geothermal could meet 100% of projected demand growth using advanced cooling technologies. Even in less favorable markets, geothermal could still meet at least 15% of power needs. Challenges and Opportunities for Geothermal-Driven Data Center Siting Strategies The Rhodium Group report explores two potential siting strategies for data centers: one that follows historical patterns of clustering near population centers and fiber-optic networks, and another that prioritizes proximity to high-quality geothermal resources. In the latter scenario, geothermal energy could easily meet all projected data center load growth by the early 2030s. Geothermal heat pumps also offer an additional benefit by providing efficient cooling for data centers, further reducing their overall electric load. This dual application of geothermal energy—for both power generation and cooling—could significantly enhance the sustainability and resilience of data center operations. However, despite its potential, geothermal energy faces several challenges that must be addressed to achieve widespread adoption. High drilling costs and technical risks associated with EGS development have historically deterred investment. (The report

6 Key Adjacent Data Center Industry Developments in Light of Cerebras’s New AI Acceleration Data Center Expansion Cerebras Systems’ announcement of six new U.S. data center sites dedicated to AI acceleration has sent ripples across the data center and AI industries. As the demand for AI compute capacity continues to surge, this move underscores the growing importance of specialized infrastructure to support next-generation workloads.  Here are six important adjacent and competitive developments in the data center industry that are shaping the landscape in light of Cerebras’s expansion. 1. Hyperscalers Doubling Down on AI-Optimized Data CentersMajor cloud providers like Google, AWS, and Microsoft Azure are rapidly expanding their AI-optimized data center footprints. These hyperscalers are investing heavily in GPU- and TPU-rich facilities to support generative AI, large language models (LLMs), and machine learning workloads. Cerebras’s move highlights the competitive pressure on hyperscalers to deliver low-latency, high-performance AI infrastructure. 2. Specialized AI Hardware Ecosystems Gaining TractionCerebras’s Wafer-Scale Engine (WSE) technology is part of a broader trend toward specialized AI hardware. Competitors like NVIDIA (with its Grace Hopper Superchips and DGX systems) and AMD (with its Instinct MI300 series) are also pushing the envelope in AI acceleration. This arms race is driving demand for data centers designed to accommodate these unique architectures, including advanced cooling and power delivery systems. 3. Liquid Cooling Adoption AcceleratesThe power density of AI workloads is forcing data center operators to rethink cooling strategies. Cerebras’s systems, known for their high compute density, will likely require liquid cooling solutions. This aligns with industry-wide adoption of liquid cooling technologies by companies like Equinix, Digital Realty, and EdgeConneX to support AI and HPC workloads efficiently. 4. Regional Data Center Expansion for AI WorkloadsCerebras’s choice to establish six new U.S. sites reflects a growing trend toward regional data center expansion to meet AI

Its accessible and flexible design will allow telecom providers, across the globe, to add AI capabilities to various parts of their infrastructure, including radio access networks (RAN), security systems, data centers, and network routing. This will make networks more manageable and responsive to issues, resulting in a smoother user experience. Jio will be the first to try out this new platform in hopes of setting an example for other telecom providers around the world. According to Jio, the goal is to create a model that others can easily follow and put into action going forward. Oommen expects the first innovation from this alliance to come in this calendar year. For Cisco, this alliance is a continuation of the strategy put in place several years ago to be more interoperable and open. Historically, Cisco has been accused of being closed and proprietary and keeping customers locked into their products. While I think the competitive chatter was far greater than the reality, there was some truth to it. This is something Jeetu Patel, who took on the role of chief product officer last year, has changed. “Over the past three to four years, we have made a huge amount of progress in this area. We have partnerships with Microsoft in security; our collaboration products work with Microsoft Teams and Zoom; our XDR takes in telemetry from competitors; and we have partnerships with multiple AI companies,” Patel told me. The willingness to be open is something all vendors should embrace as openness creates better competition and drives innovation and brings costs down. The democratization of AI creates a better world, like the way making the Internet ubiquitous did. The Open Telecom AI Platform allows more companies to participate in AI and share in the upside creating a “rising tide” that will fundamentally transform