Hitachi to invest US$1 bn in US grid infrastructure

Japanese firm Hitachi Energy, a wholly owned subsidiary of Hitachi Ltd, has announced an investment of more than US$1 billion to expand the production of critical electrical grid infrastructure in the US. These investments, among the largest seen in the electrical industry in the US, include approximately US$457 million for a new large power transformer facility in South Boston, Virginia, along with significant expansions of existing facilities throughout the country.

The investments will help meet skyrocketing energy demand driven by AI data centres in line with the Trump Administration’s White House AI Action Plan and promote domestic access to these critical grid technologies. This move also supports the power needs of American manufacturing and other sectors and much-needed grid expansion and modernisation efforts. Collectively, these investments will create thousands of jobs, bolster electrical equipment supply chains in the US, and contribute to the development of technologies to enhance the security and resilience of the US grid, says Hitachi.

Central to this investment plan is the establishment of a manufacturing facility in South Boston, Virginia, to produce large power transformers, which support applications like high-voltage transmission, power generation, AI data centres, and large-scale industrial applications.

This facility will be built alongside Hitachi Energy’s existing campus and will be the largest manufacturing site for large power transformers in the US. This facility alone will create more than 825 new jobs in Southside Virginia, offering long-term employment opportunities in engineering, advanced manufacturing, and operations roles.

These projects are part of a more than US$9 billion global investment program, which Hitachi says is the largest in the industry, under which Hitachi Energy is expanding its manufacturing capacity, R&D, engineering, and partnerships.