Schneider Electric, a global energy technology leader, today opened its annual Innovation Summit in Copenhagen, hosting more than 5,000 customers, policymakers, employees, and industry leaders, including 600 global C-level executives and representing nearly every major industry.
In his first keynote address as Schneider Electric CEO, Olivier Blum spoke to the evolving energy landscape, highlighting the company’s continuing transformation to meet industry demands. He presented a forward-looking vision that further establishes the company’s position as an energy technology partner.
“Everything we care about, our planet, our people, our partners, depends on energy,” said Blum. “But today, energy must do more. It must empower us to innovate, compete, and to create a future that’s sustainable and resilient. Schneider Electric is your energy technology partner. We electrify, automate, and digitalize every industry, business, and home, driving efficiency and sustainability for all.”
Blum emphasized the urgency of this approach. Global power needs are expected to grow by 60% over the next 15 years, intensifying pressure on infrastructure. Meanwhile renewables, especially solar and wind, are expected to triple in share by 2030, demanding smarter, more resilient infrastructure.
“We’re all living through a time of profound change,” Blum said. “The changes we’re witnessing, across both climate and technology, aren’t just challenges. They’re signals that our industry must evolve.”
“We cannot just react to these changes,” he continued. “We have to lead. At Schneider Electric, our goal is to help our partners, our customers, and our industry not just adapt, but thrive in this new era.”
The energy technology imperative
Schneider Electric has long been at the forefront of energy and technology, leading the convergence of electrification, automation, and digital intelligence into what it defines as energy technology.
“We invent the technology that makes the energy transition possible,” said Blum. “This isn’t new for us. It’s a commitment built on nearly two centuries of innovation, partnership, and impact.”
Schneider Electric integrates real-time energy and automation control with scalable software and services across every sector, including buildings, data centers, factories, plants, grids, and infrastructure. Through its EcoStruxure platform, the company embeds intelligence at every level, simplifying complexity, enabling more efficient operations, and helping customers unlock the full value of energy and resources. This unique approach creates connected ecosystems where AI, data, and people work together seamlessly.
The keynote highlighted several customer stories, including:
• Data Centers: Schneider Electric partnered with NVIDIA and EcoDataCenter to build an advanced AI factory for DeepL, a translation platform. This AI innovation hub hosts Europe’s first NVIDIA DGX GB200 SuperPod, with over 4,000 GPUs running on Schneider Electric’s high-performance infrastructure. The design brings together NVIDIA’s Mission Control with AVEVA’s building management system, ensuring everything from leak detection to thermal management can happen in real time, with AI-enabled automation.
• Industries: Water treatment and management company Acciona worked with Schneider Electric and AVEVA to build a secure, scalable digital thread across its plants, enabling the company to monitor and analyze energy, process, and asset performance in real time. Data is collected and processed securely at the edge, and AI-powered analytics help optimize operations across Acciona’s sites. As a result, the company has cut operating costs by up to 5%, reduced downtime, and extended asset life.
• Buildings: Schneider Electric helped consultancy Sidara to create a resilient, energy-efficient, and people-centric workplace for more than 1,000 employees in London. The building continuously monitors air quality, temperature, and humidity and adapts in real time to occupant needs. Since its opening, the building has maintained 24/7 uptime, achieved a 90-point comfort score in the WELL Building Standard, and advanced Sidara’s net-zero goals.
The presentation contained technology demonstrations across the following themes:
• The Digital Core: Powering AI & Data Excellence. Contributions to next-generation data centers, including strategic partnerships, advancements in chip design, and cutting-edge cooling technologies like Motivair by Schneider Electric
• Intelligent Living & Sustainable Spaces. Smart home and prosumer solutions, alongside modernized electrical distribution to enable a more resilient, digital-ready grid
• Reshaping Industries with Agile Automation. Featuring EcoStruxure Automation Expert and AVEVA, highlighting open, software-defined automation platforms
• Connected Ecosystems & Operational Resilience. Services such as EcoCare, the Energy Command Center, and partner-led solutions for EV infrastructure
The power of partnership
At the heart of Blum’s remarks was an emphasis on partnership. He underscored the critical need for ecosystems and co-creation to accelerate progress.
“The challenges ahead are bigger than any one company or industry,” he said. “It’s partnership and connection that unlock the full field of possibilities.”
He painted a vision of the future where energy is not just available, but intelligent, where homes and industries generate more than they consume, and where infrastructure adapts in real time.
“The future isn’t something we are waiting for. It’s something we build. Let’s build it together,” Blum said.
Convening industry trailblazers in Copenhagen
Schneider Electric chose Copenhagen as the site of its annual gathering to showcase the city’s progressive infrastructure, energy systems, and civic culture. The company brought together 100+ speakers to lead 50+ sessions over the two-day event. It also hosted more than a dozen side events, convening CEOs, entrepreneurs, suppliers, and partners from across its entire ecosystem to collaborate.
One notable side event is Electricians’ Day, which brought together over 1,500 electricians, including 200 students, for an immersive experience designed to equip electricians with the skills needed for the smart, sustainable homes of tomorrow.
