Power shortages and a shortage of high-voltage direct-current (HVDC) technicians in the US are slowing AI data center construction and making delivery schedules harder to predict, Delta Electronics chairman Ping Cheng said at an investor conference on October 29. Delta will continue developing HVDC and solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) systems to pursue opportunities in data center power supply and energy efficiency.
Qisda President Cally Ko said future infrastructure supporting autonomous physical AI would evolve beyond simply providing connectivity and power to also deliver sensing, computing, and autonomous dispatching capabilities. She also disclosed that the company's commercial drones had already secured orders and entered production, while its quadruped robots were expected to be unveiled publicly in early 2027.
Samsung SDI has signed a follow-on 1GWh contract to supply energy storage systems (ESS) to US power developer Alpha Omega Power (AOP). The batteries will be made in Indiana and delivered by the end of 2026, the latest sign that South Korean battery makers are winning US business by manufacturing locally.
Germany is advancing a pragmatically diversified transport and energy strategy centered on renewable diesel and electricity-based sustainable aviation fuel (eSAF). As the country works to avoid over-reliance on any single energy source while maintaining energy security and grid stability, this policy shift is actively reshaping supply-chain dynamics across Europe and Taiwan.
Australia's push to become an AI infrastructure hub for the Asia-Pacific is running into constraints that capital alone cannot solve: the last mile of grid connection, and the consent of the communities that power lines run through. That shift became clear this month when NextDC, one of the country's largest data center operators, cut its fiscal 2027 revenue forecast and reduced capital spending after a power connection delay at its Melbourne M3 facility, a project that already had a hyperscale customer under contract.
This week's coverage highlights shifting technology supply chains and rising demand across foldable smartphones, memory, energy storage, robotics, and AI infrastructure. Apple lifted its iPhone Duo shipment target after strong preorders, while memory makers faced conflicting forecasts over Chinese capacity and sustained AI demand. Taiwan advanced industrial microgrids and saw its first semiconductor strike, as Texas Instruments reported tightening analog supply. Chinese energy storage suppliers reportedly retreated from the US amid reciprocal technology and ownership restrictions.
Mitsubishi Electric has announced plans to carve out its distribution panel components business for factories and commercial buildings into a joint venture (JV) with Swiss power and automation giant ABB. Mitsubishi Electric will spin off the division and transfer a 51% stake to ABB. Moving forward, the Japanese conglomerate will focus on data center infrastructure and high-voltage grid applications positioned further upstream in power transmission and distribution.
Aerospace Industrial Development Corporation (AIDC) held an inauguration ceremony for its 9MW/54MWh large-scale microgrid system at its Shuinan facility in Taichung on October 22, marking the official commissioning of what the company describes as Taiwan's largest industrial behind-the-meter energy storage microgrid.
CleanMax's partnerships with Apple, Meta, and other technology companies highlight how artificial intelligence (AI) data centers are intensifying global demand for renewable power.
While Tesla is expanding its ambitions in autonomous transportation and embodied AI, developments in its energy-storage business are drawing attention following a mixed set of financial results in the company's third-quarter 2026 earnings report.
CATL's third-quarter revenue rose 58.58% year-over-year to CNY165.22 billion (approx. US$24.73 billion), but net profit attributable to shareholders increased just 14.54% to CNY21.25 billion. For the first nine months of 2026, revenue reached CNY442.14 billion, up 56.19%, while net profit rose 31.6% to CNY64.53 billion, according to its filing on Cninfo.
UK neocloud provider Nscale is set to lose Microsoft as the anchor tenant at its Loughton data center in Essex, after delays in power availability disrupted plans to support AI computing services. The UK's National Grid reportedly told Nscale that sufficient electricity for the site may not be available until after 2030.
As renewable energy penetration continues to increase, energy storage systems have become essential to maintaining grid stability and supporting corporate energy transitions. However, Taiwan still lacks effective mechanisms to quantify the risk mitigation and protective value of energy storage, making it difficult for businesses to fully recognize its importance.
Taiwan's leading business groups have urged the government to provide financial support for state-run energy utilities and accelerate the restart of nuclear power plants, as surging global fuel prices drove Taipower's natural gas costs more than NT$70 billion (US$2.15 billion) above prewar levels by the end of August 2026.
As geopolitical tensions reshape global supply chains, US regulations governing energy and battery energy storage systems (BESS) are undergoing rapid and unpredictable changes.
The rapid advancement of energy-storage technologies in China is enabling the country to capture a formidable share of the global market, with the domestic industry continuing to post record levels of capacity growth.
Anthropic has signed its first data center lease in Canada, taking capacity at the Point Tupper data center campus planned by energy company EverWind Fuels in Nova Scotia. The facility will be built in two phases, with the first 95-megawatt phase scheduled to open by the end of 2027.
Taiwan-based iBase Solution is expanding from industrial computers (IPCs) and energy storage into liquid-cooled prefabricated modular data centers, targeting AI infrastructure construction and engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) contracts. The company aims to leverage its energy storage expertise, system integration capabilities, and customer relationships to capture opportunities in power, cooling, and data center development as global AI investment grows.
China is moving to tighten oversight of technology transfers that support its companies' overseas expansion, proposing export bans and licensing requirements for artificial intelligence (AI), biomedicine, and solar manufacturing, and requiring exporters to register covered transactions immediately.
Major Chinese energy storage system suppliers that once dominated the US market have reportedly withdrawn almost entirely from US operations in 2026, amid mounting regulatory restrictions, overlapping tariffs, and stringent ownership scrutiny, according to US supply chain sources.
Chinese battery giant CATL is deploying sodium-ion technology to expand into Europe's energy storage system (ESS) market. The company recently signed a strategic agreement with German system integrator Intilion to deploy up to 3GWh of energy storage projects over the next five years, drawing renewed market focus to the commercialization potential of sodium-ion batteries.
TECO Electric and Machinery participated in Energy Taiwan on October 14, showcasing its smart microgrid solutions and outlining the future development of its power and energy business group.
Delta Electronics chairman Ping Cheng said at the 2026 Global Views Leaders Forum on October 15, 2026, that the world is entering an era of electrification, with AI data centers and EVs driving electricity demand beyond available supply. Delta is expanding its focus from power consumption to an integrated microgrid architecture spanning generation, transmission, distribution, energy storage and consumption, with solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) and solid-state transformers (SSTs) as its key products.
The rapid expansion of AI data centers in the US is placing growing pressure on conventional power grids, as their substantial and highly variable electricity requirements strain available supply in certain regions. Power shortages have even delayed the construction of some AI data center projects.
