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Home / Themes / Fiscal Spend '25: Electrification Hardware & Services

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Bull / Bear Details has the investment thesis and bull/bear points. Overview is monitoring guidance (hiring, forums, second-order trends, search keywords, Google Trends, datasets).

Overview

Hiring Trend Watchpoints

High-performing operators in this theme are aggressively recruiting skilled craft labor, specialized engineers, and technicians to meet unprecedented demand driven by AI data center build-outs and grid modernization. Eaton is focused on hiring linemen, high-voltage electricians, welders, and power engineers, particularly for AI data center infrastructure, and is investing in 'people and assets' to support organic growth. nVent is also expanding capacity and bringing in new operators for facilities like its Blaine, Minnesota plant to convert its record backlog into revenue. **Key Hiring Trends to Watch:** * **Skilled Trades Shortage:** The demand for skilled trades (electricians, HVAC technicians, welders, construction specialists) is significantly outpacing supply, particularly in data center construction and grid modernization. This shortage is a binding constraint on project delivery, with data centers feeling the impact more acutely than other segments. * **Specialized Data Center Roles:** There is an immediate and growing talent shortage for liquid cooling engineers and cooling technicians with hands-on experience, as traditional air cooling cannot keep pace with the heat generated by modern AI servers. Demand is also high for Power Systems Engineers, especially those with expertise in hyperscale/colo distribution, short-circuit/coordination studies, and equipment application for switchgear, UPS, and generation. * **Power & Energy Leadership:** Executive demand in data centers and digital infrastructure is rising faster than any other infrastructure sector, with development, power-and-energy, and mission-critical operations leaders being particularly difficult to find. * **Cross-Sector Hiring:** Companies are increasingly looking outside the traditional sector for talent, especially for technology, digital, and commercial leadership roles, as the industry's transformation demands new capabilities. **Monitoring Guidance:** * **Confirming Theme Execution (Bullish):** Sustained or increased hiring for specialized roles like liquid cooling engineers, 800V DC power architects, and grid modernization experts. Companies reporting successful capacity ramps and on-time project delivery, attributing success to effective workforce development and retention strategies. * **Warning of Deterioration (Bearish):** Reports of project delays or cancellations due to labor shortages, significant increases in labor costs impacting margins, or a slowdown in hiring for critical infrastructure roles. Increased competition for talent leading to higher attrition rates among key personnel.

Forum Watchlist

subreddit — r/datacenterHigh
Discussions on new technologies (liquid cooling, 800V DC), power challenges, build-out timelines, and operational issues.
subreddit — r/energyMedium
Conversations around grid modernization, renewable energy integration, power generation, and utility infrastructure investments.
subreddit — r/fiberopticsLow
Updates on fiber build-out projects, technology advancements, and regional deployment challenges relevant to communications infrastructure.
forum — Enterprise Data Center ForumHigh
Candid discussions among operators on critical infrastructure equipment problems, proven/new technologies, and operational efficiencies.
forum — American Data Centers ForumHigh
Insights from engineers, investors, and technology pioneers on data center cooling, cloud infrastructure, colocation, edge, and hyperscale data centers, especially regarding AI-powered data centers.

Second Order Trends

The theme is evolving with several critical second-order trends: * **The 'AI Factory' and Gigawatt-Scale Data Centers:** The emergence of 'AI factories' as a new class of infrastructure is driving massive global build-outs, with data center campuses scaling towards gigawatt-scale. This necessitates a rethinking of power delivery and cooling at an unprecedented scale. * **Shift to 800V DC Architectures and Solid-State Transformers (SST):** The exponential power demand from AI workloads is forcing a structural shift from traditional AC systems to 800V DC high-voltage power architecture, with significant adoption expected by 2030. This transition is also driving demand for solid-state transformers (SSTs) to manage higher power densities and improve efficiency. * **Modular and Two-Phase Liquid Cooling:** As rack densities climb, modular liquid cooling systems (starting at 2MW and beyond) are becoming the de facto standard for high-density data center builds. Experts anticipate the announcement of new two-phase direct-to-chip cooling solutions in 2026, succeeding one-phase systems as rack densities exceed one megawatt. * **Data Centers as Grid Stakeholders & On-Site Power:** Data centers are shifting from passive energy consumers to active grid stakeholders, co-investing in infrastructure upgrades, enabling load flexibility, and deploying on-site power generation and storage (BESS) to improve reliability and manage costs due to long grid connection queues. A significant portion of future data centers are expected to use 100% on-site power. * **Grid-Enhancing Technologies (GETs):** Beyond traditional upgrades, grid-enhancing technologies like dynamic line rating (DLR), dynamic transformer rating (DTR), advanced power flow control (APFC), and topology optimization are crucial for unlocking near-term grid capacity and integrating distributed energy resources more efficiently. * **Policy and Regulatory Evolution:** Regulatory bodies like FERC are advancing reforms to accelerate large-load grid connections, addressing the scale and speed required by energy-intensive industries like AI data centers. Policy and regulation are also redesigning tariff and compensation models to reward consumer flexibility and distributed energy participation.

Search Keywords Brand Product

liquid cooling data center
800V DC architecture
solid-state transformers
SST
power distribution units
PDU
electrical enclosures
thermal management solutions
fiber optic closures
microgrid solutions
battery energy storage systems
BESS
combined heat and power
CHP
RF power delivery
eVoS
eVerest
NavX

Search Keywords Policy Regulatory

BEAD program
Section 232 tariffs
45Z tax credit
Investment Tax Credit
ITC
Renewable Identification Numbers
RINs
Low Carbon Fuel Standard
LCFS
FERC interconnection reform

Search Keywords Event Phrases

AI data center build-out
grid modernization investment
electrification infrastructure spend
hyperscaler CapEx
industrial reshoring impact
utility interconnection queues
power availability crisis

Google Trend Product Category Intent

• liquid cooling solutions • data center power management • electrical grid upgrades • electric vehicle charging infrastructure • smart grid technology • solid state transformer

Google Trend Consumer Intent

• AI energy consumption • home electrification costs • electric car charging at home • power outage solutions • renewable energy installation

Google Trend Macro Policy Terms

• US infrastructure bill impact • clean energy incentives • grid reliability concerns • data center power demand

Top datasets to track

1. Edison Electric Institute (EEI) Annual Reports: North American Grid Infrastructure Capital Expenditure Type: Economic Data · Provider: Edison Electric Institute (EEI) Cadence: Annual Why it matters: Tracks utility capital expenditure on grid infrastructure, a direct indicator of grid modernization and electrification investment. Suggested query: EEI North American Grid Infrastructure Capital Expenditure 2026 Confidence: High

2. Synergy Research Group: Hyperscale Data Center Capacity & Investment Reports Type: Alternative Data · Provider: Synergy Research Group Cadence: Quarterly/Annually Why it matters: Provides insights into hyperscaler CapEx, data center capacity additions, and investment, which are primary drivers of demand for electrification hardware. Suggested query: Synergy Research Group hyperscale data center investment 2026 Confidence: High

3. Uptime Institute Global Data Center Survey Type: Alternative Data · Provider: Uptime Institute Cadence: Annually Why it matters: Monitors operator concerns, adoption rates of new technologies like liquid cooling, and staffing/skills gaps in the data center industry. Suggested query: Uptime Institute Global Data Center Survey 2026 liquid cooling adoption Confidence: High

4. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) Interconnection Queue Data Type: Economic Data · Provider: FERC Cadence: Regularly updated Why it matters: Indicates the backlog and pace of new power generation and large load (e.g., data center) connections to the grid, a critical constraint and driver for on-site power solutions. Suggested query: FERC interconnection queue data 2026 data centers Confidence: High

5. Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) Construction Outlook Type: Economic Data · Provider: Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) Cadence: Annually Why it matters: Provides forecasts for construction employment, particularly for skilled trades, highlighting labor shortages impacting data center and infrastructure build-outs. Suggested query: Associated Builders and Contractors construction outlook 2026 skilled trades Confidence: High

Industry Publications: [{"name": "Utility Dive", "domain": "utilitydive.com", "why": "Covers electric utility industry news, grid modernization, energy policy, and increasing electricity demand from data centers."}, {"name": "DataCenterDynamics", "domain": "datacenterdynamics.com", "why": "Specialized coverage of data center design, build, and operations, including power, cooling, and AI infrastructure."}, {"name": "T&D World", "domain": "tdworld.com", "why": "Focuses on transmission and distribution infrastructure, utility investments, grid modernization, and workforce development."}, {"name": "MarketScale", "domain": "marketscale.com", "why": "Provides insights on grid energy, AI load growth, connection backlogs, and infrastructure race reshaping enterprise power."}, {"name": "RefIndustry", "domain": "refindustry.com", "why": "Covers HVACR mechanics and installers, including the growing HVAC in data center market."}, {"name": "SemiAnalysis", "domain": "semianalysis.com", "why": "Deep dives into semiconductor and power chain technologies, including 800VDC architectures for data centers."}]

Constituents

ETNT2
— Eaton Corporation plc
NVTT2
— nVent Electric plc
AEIST3
— Advanced Energy Industries, Inc.
AMRCT3
— Ameresco, Inc.
PLPCT3
— Preformed Line Products Company
ESOAT3
· no notes yet
POWLT3
· no notes yet
TET3
· no notes yet

Fiscal Spend '25: Electrification Hardware & Services (view performance)