AI Power Demand May Lift Electrification ETF ELFY

Gartner projects global data center electricity consumption will rise to 565 terawatt hours in 2026 from 447 TWh in 2025, an increase of about 26%. The firm also forecasts data center power demand to reach 132 gigawatts in 2026, up from 104 GW in 2025, and to reach 290 GW by 2030.

Gartner tied the growth to generative AI and other AI workloads. The firm estimates AI-optimized servers will account for 31% of data center power consumption in 2026 and that their power use will exceed conventional servers by 2027.

The ALPS Electrification Infrastructure ETF (ELFY) has about $200.6 million in assets and marked its first anniversary in April. The fund allocates roughly two-thirds of its weight to industrial and utilities companies involved in power distribution, cooling and related infrastructure.

“Infrastructure and operations leaders must prioritize efficiency upgrades and secure grid access,” wrote Linglan Wang, director analyst at Gartner. Wang wrote that operators need high-efficiency cooling systems and edge computing to manage power constraints and support growth.

Gartner said the projected rises in electricity use will require more capacity, cooling and grid access from data center operators and hyperscalers, increasing demand for equipment and services from industrial and utilities suppliers.

VettaFi LLC serves as index administrator and calculation agent for ELFY and receives a fee for that role. VettaFi is not the issuer, sponsor or seller of the fund and has no obligation in its issuance or marketing.