Is AI lacking chips? It's electricity! Private equity giant Apollo: The energy gap is "difficult to bridge in our lifetime."
Apollo Global executive Dave Stangis stated that the gap between the energy required for AI and the current global energy supply is enormous, and relying solely on renewable energy is insufficient to drive the AI era. To address the challenge of the energy shortfall, the world is racing to increase "every source of energy." Since 2022, Apollo has committed or arranged approximately $60 billion in investments related to energy transition, infrastructure, and sustainability
The biggest bottleneck facing the artificial intelligence revolution may not be chips, but electricity.
On October 22, according to media reports, Dave Stangis, an executive at private equity giant Apollo Global Management Inc, stated that the huge energy gap facing AI development may never be bridged in our lifetime.
In an interview, he said:
"There is a huge gap between the demand for artificial intelligence and the existing capacity of the global grid in terms of generation and transmission, and this gap will not be bridged in our lifetime."
This statement directly points out that the fundamental constraint driving AI development is electricity. He also stated that sustainable energy investors need to accept a reality, that relying solely on renewable energy is insufficient to power the AI era.
To address the challenge of the electricity gap, the world is racing to increase "every source of energy," which Stangis refers to as "energy addition." He emphasized that the top priority for the current world is "energy addition," not just focusing on "energy transition."
At the same time, he believes that while "energy addition" is needed to drive AI development, this does not mean abandoning clean energy, and energy storage, transmission, and distribution capabilities are also key to success. Stangis stated:
"Energy expansion is a fact, and I believe energy transition is equally undeniable."
Meanwhile, Stangis believes that investing in clean energy and decarbonization technologies remains a profitable strategy. Since 2022, the company has committed or arranged approximately $60 billion in investments related to energy transition, infrastructure, and sustainability, which has far exceeded half of its goal of achieving $100 billion by 2030.
Stangis stated:
"I firmly believe in transformation and seek investment opportunities in industrial decarbonization, renewable energy, and everything related to storage and the grid."
