Schneider Electric Expects India Data Center Division to Outpace Global Business

2026-10-01 companies

New Delhi, Thursday, 1 October 2026.
Driven by rising artificial intelligence demands, Schneider Electric projects its Indian data center operations will outgrow all other corporate divisions. Intriguingly, India generates 20% of global data while housing only 3% of global capacity, offering significantly lower deployment costs.

Strategic Capacity Expansion in India

Schneider Electric’s projection for its Indian data center division relies on substantial infrastructure scaling. Current installed data center capacity in India stands at approximately 1.5 gigawatts, with company targets aiming to scale this figure to between 6 and 8 gigawatts within the decade [1]. This represents a potential capacity increase factor of 4 times the current baseline, highlighting the aggressive growth trajectory anticipated by management [1]. Deepak Sharma, Managing Director and Zone President for Greater India, stated on September 28, 2026, that the India data-center unit could become the company’s single largest business within 3 to 5 years [1]. This expansion is supported by the region’s cost advantages, as deployment costs per megawatt in India are at least 30% lower than the global average [1]. Furthermore, the country’s IT load capacity is forecast to grow from approximately 1.4 gigawatts to between 6.5 gigawatts and 17 gigawatts by 2030, necessitating significant cooling efficiencies [6].

Technological Innovation in Power and Cooling

To support this growth, Schneider Electric has unveiled new technologies tailored for high-density AI workloads. On September 29, 2026, guidance was published emphasizing that cooling and water strategies must be integrated from the initial design phase to account for heat rejection and future rack density [4]. The company introduced its WCDU coolant distribution unit, designed for high-density AI data centers, offering up to 3.5 megawatts of cooling capacity [3]. Additionally, Schneider Electric unveiled what it describes as the world’s first fully software-defined medium voltage switchgear architecture, which can enable up to three times faster ordering and manufacturing compared with conventional engineered-to-order switchgear [2]. This technology is being tested in a live colocation data center through a pilot with Equinix, with broader availability planned for 2028 [2]. Water resilience is also critical, as India holds approximately 18% of the global population but possesses only 4% of the world’s freshwater resources [4]. Closed-loop direct-to-chip liquid cooling systems are becoming mandatory above 35 kilowatts per rack to maintain efficient Power Usage Effectiveness [6].

Market Context and Investment Landscape

The broader market reflects this surge in infrastructure demand, with the 2026 combined AI capital-expenditure program for major US hyperscalers projected to exceed $650 billion [1]. Investment firm Goldman Sachs estimates the Big 5 technology companies will spend a whopping $1.2 trillion building the AI economy in 2027 [7]. Supply chain partners are also forecasting strength; for instance, Jabil projects fiscal year 2027 revenue of $44.5 billion, exceeding Wall Street estimates primarily due to robust demand from AI data centers [5]. In India, enterprise AI adoption is currently at 54% as of September 30, 2026, driving the need for new AI-ready data center campuses shifting toward high-density rack architectures [6]. Schneider Electric reports approximately €40 billion in annual global revenue, with 30% already derived from data centres, indicating the scale of the opportunity [1]. Q1 2026 revenue increased 11.2% organically to €9.77 billion, with the energy-management segment rising nearly 13% [1].

Sources

Data Centers Schneider Electric