The global gas turbine market is experiencing a significant boom, driven by escalating tensions in the Middle East and massive data centre expansion in the United States, according to Siemens Energy executives. Manufacturers are already flooded with orders as hyperscalers invest more than $700 billion in energy-intensive artificial intelligence infrastructure, fuelling demand for new energy capacity.
Along with rivals GE Vernova and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Siemens Energy has seen gas turbine demand soar. This trend has boosted the firms’ share prices in recent years and is now being reinforced by Middle East governments seeking to secure energy supplies amid attacks on their infrastructure, board members told reporters at a company event.
Karim Amin, who leads Siemens Energy’s gas services division, said Gulf countries are launching new tenders to ensure power continuity if a large power plant goes down. “If you look at some of these countries, especially in the Gulf, you see that they are launching new tenders. So that if a big power plant is down, they are not out,” Amin said.
Amin noted that a 15% reserve capacity, which was standard in a world where power plants were not targeted, is no longer sufficient due to the Iran conflict, which has also driven turbine prices higher. On logistics, the company has switched to truck-based transport in the region as an alternative to shipping. While this adds time and costs, Amin said it “did not stop the business.”
Siemens Energy CEO Christian Bruch said data centres account for about a quarter of the group’s gas turbine order backlog, with the U.S. market representing 40% of the global market, which stands at roughly 100 to 120 gigawatts. “We’re firing on all cylinders,” Bruch said, adding the group plans to steadily increase capacity through 2030 but has reached the limit of its ability to raise output in the short term. “We’ve already done everything we can,” he said.