President Donald Trump’s efforts to make AI companies use their own powers for datacentres is set to benefit Finnish energy company Wärtsilä. CEO Håkan Agnevall told Reuters that a push for U.S. datacenters to use their own power will boost demand for Wärtsilä’s more environmentally friendly products and help underpin a “double-digit” percentage increase in hiring of servicing staff over the next two years.
The White House said on Wednesday it would meet with tech companies, such as Microsoft, Amazon and Meta, on March 4 to agree a plan to protect consumers from rising power costs tied to surging demand for AI-focused datacenters.
What is Wärtsilä?
Wärtsilä is a large Finnish multinational corporation that provides advanced technologies and services to the marine and energy markets. It was originally founded in 1834 and has grown into a notable name in designing, manufacturing, and servicing power sources, propulsion systems, and complete lifecycle solutions for ships and power plants.
READ: Anthropic CEO says AI will exceed cognitive capabilities of most humans (
Headquartered in Helsinki, Finland, Wärtsilä operates in around 80 countries and employs tens of thousands of people worldwide.
In the energy sector, the company’s offerings include flexible power plant technologies that run on a range of fuels — from gas and liquid fuels to biofuels — as well as energy storage systems and digital optimisation platforms.
Wärtsilä is publicly traded on the Nasdaq Helsinki stock exchange and is known for its focus on sustainability and decarbonisation, helping customers transition toward cleaner and more efficient energy solutions.
Agnevall said that while demand was already strong, Wartsila expects to grow its delivery capacity for data center engines 80% by 2028, and the U.S. moves would provide a further tailwind for its more energy- and water-efficient products.
“So far we’ve contracted for about 1.2 gigawatts of power for data centers,” Agnevall said, recalling “one particular situation where it was a very important factor for choosing our technology.”
READ: Will AI make coders obsolete? Anthropic CEO’s comments fuel H1-B visa row (
The U.S. market is home to around half the world’s datacentres and growth is expected to surge over the next few years as companies race to scale computing power, in turn fuelling competition for workers.
As demand for large-scale computing power rises, companies are increasingly evaluating the environmental and operational efficiency of the energy solutions they adopt, which can have significant ripple effects on suppliers, employment, and industrial strategy. Policies and initiatives aimed at reducing energy costs or promoting cleaner power sources can create opportunities for companies that provide innovative, flexible, and sustainable technologies.