AI boom drives energy storage and tech power deals - Nov 12, 2025

As of November 12, today’s news features relevant corporate developments and broader economic implications driven by data center expansions and energy market dynamics. AI data centre-fuelled power demand growth in the U.S. is likely to drive a "boom cycle" for energy storage in the next five years as more storage is needed to smooth out fluctuations from wind and solar generation, according to UBS Securities. Global energy storage demand could increase 40% globally year-on-year in 2026, Hong Kong-based UBS Securities analyst Yan Yishu told a media briefing today. Meanwhile, RWE, Germany's largest power producer, reported higher-than-expected profit for the first nine months of the year, boosted by a 225 million euro book gain on the sale of a data centre project to a large unnamed cloud service provider. In the shipbuilding sector, Italian company Fincantieri reported a notable 40% rise in its core profit for nine months, bolstered by revenue growth across all business segments. Particularly strong performance in their defense unit, with a year-on-year increase of 39%, highlighted the company's strategic shift towards a more profitable defense focus. As a result, Fincantieri’s order intake surged to 16 billion euros, securing a healthy backlog for upcoming years. TotalEnergies has signed a 15-year power purchase agreement with Google to provide 1.5 terawatt hours of renewable electricity from a solar farm in Ohio, signaling the oil giant's adaptability to major tech demand for sustainable energy solutions. On the market front, copper prices saw a slight increase due to optimism surrounding the impending end of the U.S. government shutdown. Meanwhile, AI startup Anthropic announced a staggering 50 billion dollars investment in U.S. data centers in collaboration with Fluidstack, aiming to expand its artificial intelligence infrastructure amid growing industry competition. In other global news, China’s President Xi Jinping engaged with Spain’s King Felipe VI, promoting enhanced cooperation aimed at securing greater economic ties and investment opportunities, particularly in the EU context, as geopolitical tensions influence trade dynamics.