Siemens Energy CEO Warns Germany Is Falling Behind as AI Boom Fuels a Quarter of Gas Turbine Orders

Siemens Energy CEO says Germany risks missing AI boom as data center orders surge; stock up 27% YTD but volatile, with key investor conferences this week.

Siemens Energy chief executive Christian Bruch has issued a stark warning that Germany risks missing the artificial intelligence infrastructure boom, even as the company reports that more than 25% of its gas-turbine orders now come from data-center customers. The disclosure, which underscores how deeply the AI buildout is reshaping the energy landscape, comes as the stock has staged a modest recovery ahead of two investor conferences this week.

The company’s gas-services division is the prime beneficiary. Over a quarter of its order book is tied to powering data centers, while the grid-technology segment still sees less than 10% of its business from that source. The demand surge is driven by hyperscalers such as Alphabet, Meta, Amazon and Microsoft, which together plan roughly $800 billion in infrastructure spending by 2026. McKinsey projects global data-capacity outlays could hit $7 trillion by 2030, and Siemens Energy’s turbines are a key component for the electricity supply at these sites.

Bruch, however, is sounding alarms closer to home. Germany currently has only about 3 gigawatts of data-center capacity, with a mere 500 megawatts dedicated to AI. An additional 6 GW are planned, but Bruch doubts that will be enough. He pointed to the halted Edgeconnex data center in Maintal near Frankfurt—a project that collapsed over disputes about a planned gas-fired power plant. The consequence, he noted, is that Softbank is now pouring $50 billion into France rather than Germany. Clear national targets, Bruch argues, are essential to keep AI model training based on industrial data inside the country.

The issue is not limited to Germany. EU Commissioner Dan Jörgensen aims to expand the bloc’s data-center capacity from 12 GW to 28 GW by the early 2030s. Electricity consumption from data centers currently accounts for 2.5% of EU demand and could double by 2030. Ireland offers a glimpse of the future: data centers already consume over 20% of the nation’s power, and in the Dublin area the figure is roughly 50%. The International Energy Agency expects global data-center electricity usage to reach 950 terawatt-hours by 2030, double today’s level.

Against that backdrop, Siemens Energy’s stock trades at €155.64, up about 1.4% on Monday. The shares have gained roughly 27% year-to-date but remain more than 20% below the April high of €195.54. Over the past 12 months the stock is up 77%, yet it has shed nearly 8% in the last 30 days. The current price sits comfortably above the 200-day moving average of €136.96 but below the 50-day average of €168.78. The relative strength index reads 44.6, signaling neither oversold nor overbought territory, while annualized 30-day volatility of 53.6% suggests swings will remain the norm.

This week’s appearances at the J.P. Morgan European Industrials Conference on June 17 and the ODDO BHF London Forum on June 18 give management its last chance before the quiet period to communicate operational confidence directly to institutional investors. The next hard deadline is the Q3 pre-close call on June 29, followed by the release of results on August 5.

The reference point for any questions on margins and project execution remains the second-quarter numbers published May 12. Orders reached €17.7 billion, producing a book-to-bill ratio of 1.72. Revenue grew 8.9%, the result before special items came in at €1.164 billion, and free cash flow before taxes hit €1.975 billion. On that foundation, Siemens Energy raised its full-year guidance to comparable revenue growth of 14%–16%, a margin before special items of 10%–12%, annual profit of about €4 billion, and free cash flow of roughly €8 billion.

Gas Services and Grid Technologies are expected to dominate discussions at the conferences, as both segments drove order intake and cash flow in the second quarter. Siemens Gamesa remains a sore point with investors, closely watched for any signs of improvement. Analysts’ average price target stands at €186.30, implying significant upside from current levels if the company can sustain its trajectory—and if Germany can get out of its own way.