Reshaping our energy future: energy expansion and the electrification of everything
The world's appetite for energy has never been greater - and it is growing. The global population is projected to reach 9.7 billion by 2050,¹ and the industrial expansion that accompanies this growth is placing unprecedented strain on energy systems. Manufacturing, mobility, data centers: all are scaling simultaneously, and demanding more power. Meeting that demand is not simply a question of building more capacity. It is a question of building the right kind - electric, diverse, intelligent, and resilient.
Web Story
7min
2026-05-03
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<p>Global energy demand is accelerating at unprecedented scale - driven by population growth, industrial expansion, and AI - placing enormous strain on energy systems never designed for this level of complexity.</p>02
<p>Meeting this demand requires a smarter, more diversified energy mix: renewables backed by clean firm power, intelligent grid infrastructure, and the automation needed to balance supply and demand in real time.</p>03
<p>ABB operates across every layer of the energy transition - from grid stabilization and power management to LNG electrification, nuclear modernization, and AI-driven platforms - helping customers build systems that are smarter and more resilient.</p>Energy Expansion explained
<p>Energy expansion refers to the rapid growth in global electricity demand driven by industrial electrification, population growth, and digital infrastructure such as AI and data centers. ABB operates across these layers to enable scalable and resilient energy systems:</p>
Electrification replaces fossil-based processes
<p> </p>Automation optimizes energy use and stability
<p> </p>Digital platforms and AI enable predictive operations
<p> </p>Grid technologies balance supply and demand
<p> </p>Electrification and automation working hand in hand
At the heart of this energy expansion is a fundamental shift: the electrification of everything. Transport, heating, heavy industry, and LNG production - sectors that once relied overwhelmingly on combustion - are converting to electric power. The reason is straightforward: electricity is simply a more efficient form of energy. It delivers more useful output per unit of input, which translates directly into lower operating costs and reduced energy waste across every sector that adopts it.
Electrification transforms what energy is used. Automation transforms how it is used, and it is the true enabler of both energy expansion and energy transition. Across power generation, such as LNG production, solar farms, and nuclear plants, and process industries such as pulp and paper, metals, waste and waste water, automation serves as the intelligence layer that converts raw capacity into optimized, reliable output. Digital technology and AI are its force multipliers: they amplify the benefits of automation and help customers unlock data-driven insights that enhance operational efficiency, reliability, and output.
As an example, ABB’s Automation Extended program is a strategic evolution of its distributed control systems (DCS), which enables an oil platform or refinery, an LNG plant or a gas-fired power station to progressively introduce new digital capabilities, including advanced analytics and AI, while preserving system integrity. It securely and without operational disruption bridges the core control and the digital environment, supported by a unified lifecycle service for management and maintenance.
Automation Extended – from vision to reality
Oil and gas: supporting the transition
<p>According to the International Energy Agency, to reach net-zero emissions by 2050, fossil fuels (natural gas, oil and coal) will need to go down from around 80 percent of the total world energy supply today to 15 percent.<sup>1</sup> We actively support energy-intensive industries - including oil and gas - in their transition journeys, making existing assets leaner and cleaner through electrification and automation. As energy systems expand and transform, LNG plays a key role in securing a reliable and affordable energy supply.</p>
Azerbaijan
ABB is supporting bp's electrification of the Sangachal terminal, one of the world's largest oil and gas terminals, processing 1.2 million barrels of oil and ~81 million m³ of gas daily, by supplying four synchronous condensers and the ABB Ability™ 800xA® distributed control system to replace existing gas turbines. The integrated solution reduces the number of condensers needed, cutting overall project costs, while supporting bp's decarbonization goals and Azerbaijan's targets to reach 30 percent renewable power by 2030.
Singapore
Hanwha Ocean awarded ABB the contract to supply a complete electric power and propulsion system for Singapore's first floating LNG terminal. The project is the latest milestone in a long-standing collaboration between ABB and Hanwha Ocean across LNG carrier projects.
ABB deployed its full suite of marine and industrial electrification technologies across the SLNG terminal, combining power distribution, drive systems, and digital control into a single, unified platform.
US - Betchel
We have been awarded orders by Bechtel to extend automation and electrical scope across Trains 4 and 5 of the Rio Grande LNG facility, supplying its Integrated Control and Safety System, Electrical Controls and Monitoring System, medium-voltage drives, motors, transformers, and switchgear. Once operational, the facility will produce up to 30 million tonnes of LNG per annum, strengthening global energy security.
US - Argent LNG
ABB has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) agreement with US company Argent LNG to collaborate on automation and electrical solutions for a liquefaction facility at Port Fourchon in Louisiana, approximately 150 kilometers south of New Orleans. Once operational, by 2030, it will enhance US liquefied natural gas (LNG) export capabilities, support global energy security and reinforce the role of LNG as a transition fuel.
Helsinki
ABB partnered with CoolCo to modernize propulsion drives across nine dual fuel diesel-electric LNG carriers by replacing only the essential electronic and control components of each vessel's ACS6000 frequency converters — preserving existing infrastructure and minimizing dry dock time. The targeted upgrade extended each vessel's operational lifetime by over ten years while reducing raw material use and embodied carbon.
Building a more diversified energy future
Meeting global energy demand as populations grow, industries expand, AI infrastructure proliferates, and shipping seeks to decarbonize requires expanding supply across every viable source: cleaner gas, renewables at scale, and nuclear both large and small. It requires electrifying industrial processes, automating them intelligently, and amplifying that intelligence with digital tools and AI.
Our solutions span the full breadth of this challenge, from Azerbaijan to Abu Dhabi, Ontario to Oslo, working to build an energy future that is not just larger, but smarter, more resilient, and genuinely diversified.
- IEA, Global Energy Review 2026
- IEA, Energy and AI, April 2025
- IEA, Global Energy Review 2026, Global Trends
- World Nuclear Association / Government of Canada. Nuclear supplies approximately 15% of Canada's electricity nationally; Ontario: 53% of provincial electricity mix in 2024. https://world-nuclear.org/Information-Library/Country-Profiles/countries-A-F/Canada-Nuclear-Power and https://www.ontario.ca/page/energy-generations