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National Grid Ventures to invest $1.75bn to accelerate power solutions for U.S. data centers and AI

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WASHINGTON, July 1, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — National Grid Ventures (NGV), the commercial arm of National Grid plc, has agreed to invest $1.75 billion for a 35% stake in Joulent LLC, forming a broad strategic partnership to develop contracted power and electrical infrastructure solutions for U.S. large load demand.

Zoë Yujnovich, Chief Executive of National Grid, said: “Our investment in Joulent is a disciplined, partner-led investment in contracted critical infrastructure for the AI-driven large load economy. Through National Grid Ventures, we are gaining exposure to a major source of electricity demand growth with strong partners. It extends National Grid’s core strengths of investing in long-duration infrastructure with predictable cash flows and attractive risk-adjusted returns.”

Chris James, Founder and CEO of Joulent, said: “This investment from National Grid Ventures strengthens Joulent’s ability to deliver reliable, large-scale power on the timelines AI infrastructure and advanced industry now requires. We are building an independent company designed for speed, scale and execution, without shifting the cost of that growth onto local communities while also providing tailor-made and cost competitive solutions for our customers.”

Rising demand from data centers and other power-intensive industries is driving the need for dedicated, scalable power — often outpacing the timelines of traditional grid connections. This investment is consistent with National Grid’s ambition to pursue selective critical infrastructure growth opportunities emerging from the transforming energy landscape, and marks NGV’s entry into one of the fastest-growing areas of electricity demand.

Joulent has built the capabilities, partnerships and resources to develop integrated power solutions for U.S. large load customers, including data centers, helping to accelerate speed-to-power. These solutions include co-located gas generation, battery storage, renewables integration and ‘Across-the-Meter’ grid connections. Joulent’s solutions are designed to scale quickly to meet near-term large load power demand, supporting economic growth without shifting costs onto local communities, while enabling a longer-term path to grid connection.

NGV’s investment will enable the development of Joulent’s foundational project, Project Kilby (“Kilby”), in a 50/50 partnership with Chevron Corporation. Kilby is a 2.67 GW co-located power facility in West Texas that will provide dedicated electricity to a Microsoft-operated data center under a 20-year power purchase agreement. Development of the project is at an advanced stage with secured critical equipment including GE Vernova turbines and reserved EPC capacity, and it is targeting first power delivery by 2028.

Noelle Walsh, Microsoft President of Cloud Operations + Innovation, said: “AI and cloud are advancing at a pace that requires closer coordination between energy and infrastructure, and we welcome National Grid Ventures’ experience and capabilities in helping address this challenge and support reliable, high‑performance compute at scale.”

Joulent also has a multi-gigawatt pipeline of future projects that could provide incremental growth over time.

This strategic partnership is intended to extend beyond capital, with National Grid enhancing Joulent through its deep operational capabilities, including expertise in high-voltage networks, system integration and balancing, infrastructure development and project execution. The partnership is also expected to provide insights and relationships that can strengthen National Grid’s data center connection program, where it expects to connect more than 10 GW of demand across the U.K. and U.S. over the next five years.

The investment is incremental to National Grid’s existing five-year capital investment program of at least £70 billion (approximately $90 billion) through 2031 and will be funded through the Group’s balance sheet headroom, with a final investment decision expected in 2026. It reflects a disciplined, long-term approach to supporting the energy systems of the future.

About National Grid Ventures
National Grid Ventures (NGV), the commercial arm of National Grid plc, develops, builds and operates energy infrastructure that strengthens the power system and delivers reliable, affordable energy for communities. 

In the U.S., NGV’s portfolio includes competitive transmission, battery storage, solar, LNG storage, and conventional generation assets. A global leader in transmission infrastructure, NGV operates the world’s largest portfolio of high voltage subsea interconnectors in Europe and is applying that expertise to strengthen and expand the U.S. electric grid. NGV brings decades of experience partnering with regulators and local stakeholders to build energy infrastructure that supports economic growth, improves reliability, and helps deliver lower cost energy to customers.

About Joulent
Joulent is a technology-driven energy company purpose-built to deliver reliable, multi-gigawatt energy at the speed and scale required to build the compute for artificial intelligence and other compute-intensive industries. Joulent develops and delivers firm, baseload power solutions engineered to meet the unique demands of advanced computing while minimizing impacts on existing power grids. Its modular, Across-the-Meter™ approach integrates generation, storage, and advanced controls to deliver scalable power directly to new industrial loads, while reducing strain on existing grids and providing exportable power over time.

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SOURCE National Grid

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Hanshow Spotlights Smart Cart Ecosystem at CGF Global Summit 2026, Reimagining the In-Store Value Chain

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VIENNA, July 2, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Hanshow, a global leader in digital store solutions, hosted a CGF Roundtable titled “Smart Cart Revolution in Physical Retail” at the 2026 Consumer Goods Forum Global Summit, bringing together senior leaders across the retail value chain to examine how Smart Carts are redefining the future of physical stores.

Reframing the Challenge: Three Paradoxes of Physical Retail

The Special Session was moderated by Philippe Brochard, Chairman of the Advisory Board at Hanshow, who opened the discussion by positioning Smart Carts not as a standalone device, but as a strategic response to deeper industry misalignments between operational challenges, shopper expectations, and brand requirements.

Philippe outlined three unresolved paradoxes shaping the future of stores: digitally empowered shoppers navigating in physical store environments; the need to deliver trusted, contextual guidance without intrusive selling; and growing demand from brands for measurable, proof-based retail media.

Retailers are facing growing pressure from loss prevention challenges, labor shortages, and operational complexity; Smart Carts offer a practical response to these challenges while unlocking something larger: reconnecting physical stores with digitally empowered shoppers by embedding digital intelligence, contextual guidance, and measurable retail media capabilities into the shopping journey. Achieving this shift elevates Smart Carts from a single innovation to a transformation platform, enabled through collaboration across the in-store value chain.

When Ecosystems Win: Reimagining the In‑Store Value Chain

Turning this vision into everyday retail execution requires more than a single technology layer. It depends on the close integration of reliable hardware, advanced software, real‑time personalization, retail media capabilities, and seamless store operations. The panel brought together leaders from retailer operations, software platforms, and retail media to provide a full value-chain perspective on how Smart Carts can move from an innovation concept to a scalable in-store deployment.

Michel Itié, Director of Transformation at Infomil (E.Leclerc), shared operational insights from scaling Scan & Go and in‑store digitalization in physical retail environments. He highlighted the importance of reliability, store readiness, and execution discipline to ensure Smart Carts deliver value for both shoppers and store teams.

“Scan & Go is already deeply embedded in shopper behavior, with strong adoption and high-value baskets in physical stores. However, there is still a significant gap between usage and monetization,” said Michel Itié. “By evolving into a retail media platform, it can unlock new value for both retailers and brands, directly at the moment of purchase where decisions are made.”

Florian Burgstaller, CEO of shopreme, focused on the role of a Smart Cart operating system as the connective layer between digital shopper expectations and the physical realities of store, enabling advanced loss prevention, frictionless checkout, and contextual engagement without overwhelming the shopper.

“The future of brick‑and‑mortar retail cannot be built on isolated solutions anymore, retailers need connected ecosystems that make innovation scalable and give them the flexibility to respond to continuously changing environments,” said Florian. He highlighted that shopreme’s collaboration with Hanshow and Lucky Cart “bring digital precision into the physical store and help retailers move beyond silos, creating scalable, measurable experiences directly at the point of sale.”

Romain Charles, CEO of Lucky Cart, addressed the “proof paradox” from the brand perspective, explaining how Smart Carts now enable online‑level retail media precision inside physical stores, with measurable outcomes and deployment‑ready technology available today.

“The future of retail is ‘Smart Commerce’, where digital precision enables a personalized in-store experience,” added Romain. “A shopper-first strategy means technology serves, never intrudes — a true co-pilot. By re-enchanting stores with intelligent, meaningful experiences, we bring the best of both online and in-store, creating incremental value for brands and retailers.”

Together, the speakers reinforced a shared conclusion: the Smart Cart revolution extends far beyond the cart itself. The next step is coming together: a joint reimagination of the in-store value chain through ecosystem collaboration in a way physical retail has not been able to do before.

From Vision to Action: Re-enchanting the Intelligent Store

Extending the discussion beyond the stage, Hanshow showcased its Store Digital Twin at its exhibition booth, demonstrating how real‑time intelligence connects shoppers, products, operations, and retail media into an integrated ecosystem.

“Smart Cart with Retail Media stack embedded and immediately activable is the ultimate bridge between online and offline, delivering the same level of shoppers targeting and experience,” said Philippe Brochard, Chairman of the Advisory Board at Hanshow. “With Store Digital Twin, we move from isolated touchpoints to a living, real‑time representation of the store ecosystem. This is how we truly re‑enchant the physical retail experience and restore its relevance and resilience in an era of digital‑first, agentic commerce.”

Building on this vision, Hanshow will continue to strengthen ecosystem power, enabling retailers to transform physical stores into adaptive, performance‑driven, and experience‑led environments.

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/hanshow-spotlights-smart-cart-ecosystem-at-cgf-global-summit-2026-reimagining-the-in-store-value-chain-302816833.html

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Hanshow Spotlights Smart Cart Ecosystem at CGF Global Summit 2026, Reimagining the In-Store Value Chain

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VIENNA, July 2, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Hanshow, a global leader in digital store solutions, hosted a CGF Roundtable titled “Smart Cart Revolution in Physical Retail” at the 2026 Consumer Goods Forum Global Summit, bringing together senior leaders across the retail value chain to examine how Smart Carts are redefining the future of physical stores.

Reframing the Challenge: Three Paradoxes of Physical Retail

The Special Session was moderated by Philippe Brochard, Chairman of the Advisory Board at Hanshow, who opened the discussion by positioning Smart Carts not as a standalone device, but as a strategic response to deeper industry misalignments between operational challenges, shopper expectations, and brand requirements.

Philippe outlined three unresolved paradoxes shaping the future of stores: digitally empowered shoppers navigating in physical store environments; the need to deliver trusted, contextual guidance without intrusive selling; and growing demand from brands for measurable, proof-based retail media.

Retailers are facing growing pressure from loss prevention challenges, labor shortages, and operational complexity; Smart Carts offer a practical response to these challenges while unlocking something larger: reconnecting physical stores with digitally empowered shoppers by embedding digital intelligence, contextual guidance, and measurable retail media capabilities into the shopping journey. Achieving this shift elevates Smart Carts from a single innovation to a transformation platform, enabled through collaboration across the in-store value chain.

When Ecosystems Win: Reimagining the In‑Store Value Chain

Turning this vision into everyday retail execution requires more than a single technology layer. It depends on the close integration of reliable hardware, advanced software, real‑time personalization, retail media capabilities, and seamless store operations. The panel brought together leaders from retailer operations, software platforms, and retail media to provide a full value-chain perspective on how Smart Carts can move from an innovation concept to a scalable in-store deployment.

Michel Itié, Director of Transformation at Infomil (E.Leclerc), shared operational insights from scaling Scan & Go and in‑store digitalization in physical retail environments. He highlighted the importance of reliability, store readiness, and execution discipline to ensure Smart Carts deliver value for both shoppers and store teams.

“Scan & Go is already deeply embedded in shopper behavior, with strong adoption and high-value baskets in physical stores. However, there is still a significant gap between usage and monetization,” said Michel Itié. “By evolving into a retail media platform, it can unlock new value for both retailers and brands, directly at the moment of purchase where decisions are made.”

Florian Burgstaller, CEO of shopreme, focused on the role of a Smart Cart operating system as the connective layer between digital shopper expectations and the physical realities of store, enabling advanced loss prevention, frictionless checkout, and contextual engagement without overwhelming the shopper.

“The future of brick‑and‑mortar retail cannot be built on isolated solutions anymore, retailers need connected ecosystems that make innovation scalable and give them the flexibility to respond to continuously changing environments,” said Florian. He highlighted that shopreme’s collaboration with Hanshow and Lucky Cart “bring digital precision into the physical store and help retailers move beyond silos, creating scalable, measurable experiences directly at the point of sale.”

Romain Charles, CEO of Lucky Cart, addressed the “proof paradox” from the brand perspective, explaining how Smart Carts now enable online‑level retail media precision inside physical stores, with measurable outcomes and deployment‑ready technology available today.

“The future of retail is ‘Smart Commerce’, where digital precision enables a personalized in-store experience,” added Romain. “A shopper-first strategy means technology serves, never intrudes — a true co-pilot. By re-enchanting stores with intelligent, meaningful experiences, we bring the best of both online and in-store, creating incremental value for brands and retailers.”

Together, the speakers reinforced a shared conclusion: the Smart Cart revolution extends far beyond the cart itself. The next step is coming together: a joint reimagination of the in-store value chain through ecosystem collaboration in a way physical retail has not been able to do before.

From Vision to Action: Re-enchanting the Intelligent Store

Extending the discussion beyond the stage, Hanshow showcased its Store Digital Twin at its exhibition booth, demonstrating how real‑time intelligence connects shoppers, products, operations, and retail media into an integrated ecosystem.

“Smart Cart with Retail Media stack embedded and immediately activable is the ultimate bridge between online and offline, delivering the same level of shoppers targeting and experience,” said Philippe Brochard, Chairman of the Advisory Board at Hanshow. “With Store Digital Twin, we move from isolated touchpoints to a living, real‑time representation of the store ecosystem. This is how we truly re‑enchant the physical retail experience and restore its relevance and resilience in an era of digital‑first, agentic commerce.”

Building on this vision, Hanshow will continue to strengthen ecosystem power, enabling retailers to transform physical stores into adaptive, performance‑driven, and experience‑led environments.

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/hanshow-spotlights-smart-cart-ecosystem-at-cgf-global-summit-2026-reimagining-the-in-store-value-chain-302816833.html

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Data Center Heat Exchangers Market worth $14.40 billion by 2032 – Exclusive Report by MarketsandMarkets™

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DELRAY BEACH, Fla., July 2, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — According to MarketsandMarkets™, “Data Center Heat Exchangers Market by Type (Air-to-Air, Liquid-to-Liquid, Liquid-to-Air, Refrigerant-Based), Cooling Technology, Application, Data Center Type (Hyperscale, Colocation, Enterprise, Edge & Micro), and Region – Global Forecast to 2032″, The data center heat exchangers market is projected to grow from USD 7.67 billion in 2026 to USD 14.40 billion by 2032, at a CAGR of 11.1% over the forecast period. Key drivers of the market include the rapid growth of AI and high-performance computing (HPC), the accelerating adoption of liquid cooling, and the expansion of hyperscale and colocation data centers. 

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Data Center Heat Exchangers Market Size & Forecast:

• Market Size Available for Years: 2021-2032
• 2026 Market Size: USD 7.67 billion
• 2032 Projected Market Size: USD 14.40 billion
• CAGR (2026-2032): 11.1% 

Data Center Heat Exchangers Market Trends & Insights:

The data center heat exchangers market is emerging as a critical segment of the global data center cooling industry, driven by the growing need to manage heat from modern computing infrastructure. Heat exchangers play a vital role, transferring thermal energy from servers, cooling distribution units (CDUs), and liquid cooling loops to facility cooling systems, keeping the entire setup stable and equipment performing at its best. The market is gaining momentum from the rapid rollout of AI-driven workloads, high-performance computing (HPC) systems, and hyperscale cloud facilities, which are significantly increasing thermal loads inside data centers. Meanwhile, operators are working to boost energy efficiency, cut cooling costs, and handle higher rack densities, so advanced heat exchanger technologies are being adopted widely across liquid cooling architectures. On the technology front, innovations in plate heat exchangers, microchannel designs, and heat recovery systems are improving cooling efficiency and supporting sustainability goals. With growing investments in AI-ready infrastructure, edge data centers, and environmentally sustainable cooling approaches, heat exchangers are becoming indispensable for enabling the next generation of high-density, energy-efficient, scalable operations that hold up under heavy demand.North America is the fastest growing country, in terms of value, with the CAGR of 10.9% during the forecast period.Liquid-to-liquid heat exchangers accounted for 42.9% of the market, in terms of value, in 2025.Direct-to-chip cooling is expected to dominate the data center heat exchangers market during the forecast period.Hyperscale data centers accounted for a major share of the data center heat exchangers market in terms of value in 2025.Server and IT hardware cooling accounted for 54.3% of the market, by application, in 2025.Vertiv, Schneider Electric, Alfa Laval, Rittal, and STULZ collectively held roughly half of the global market in 2025, though the competitive landscape is broadening as niche thermal specialists gain traction.Tranter Inc., Advanced Thermal Solutions, Inc., and thermowave, among others, have distinguished themselves as startups and SMEs by securing strong footholds in specialized niche areas, underscoring their potential as emerging market leaders.

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By type, liquid-to-liquid heat exchangers are expected to dominate the global market throughout the forecast period.

Liquid-to-liquid heat exchangers are the dominant product category in the data center heat exchanger market. This dominance reflects the architecture of modern liquid cooling deployments, in which facility-side chilled water loops must interface efficiently with rack- or CDU-level coolant loops that carry heat away from processors. Plate heat exchangers – the most prevalent liquid-to-liquid variant – offer high thermal efficiency in a compact footprint, lower maintenance requirements than shell-and-tube alternatives, and straightforward scalability by adding plate packs. The broad adoption of this technology by hyperscale operators in their standard reference architecture has cemented its position as the market anchor.

Air-to-liquid heat exchangers, most implemented as rear-door heat exchangers, are the fastest-growing product type by unit volume. The RDHx format has a structural advantage: it requires no server-level modifications, can be retrofitted to existing racks, and scales linearly with rack density, making it the de facto preferred migration pathway for operators moving away from air cooling without committing to a full liquid system transformation. As Al server density increases and more facilities cross the threshold where RDHx becomes the economically optimal solution, this segment will continue to see above-market growth rates.

By cooling technology, direct-to-chip cooling is expected to dominate the global data center heat exchangers market during the forecast period.

Direct-to-chip liquid cooling systems, in which cold plates are mounted in direct contact with CPUs, GPUs, and other heat-generating silicon, account for the leading share of high-value heat exchanger deployments. The technology is architecturally demanding but thermally superior: it removes heat at the source before it can raise ambient temperatures, enable much higher chip operating performance, and make it possible to operate without significant mechanical air-cooling infrastructure. Hyperscalers deploying NVIDIA Blackwell and next-generation GPU clusters are standardizing on direct-to-chip architectures, making this the technology segment most closely tied to AI infrastructure investment trends.

Free cooling and adiabatic heat exchanger solutions are the fastest-growing technology segment on a percentage basis in geographies with favorable ambient conditions. Northern European data centers, particularly in the Nordics and Ireland, have long exploited mild climates to minimize reliance on mechanical cooling, and the heat exchanger products enabling this architecture to have evolved significantly. As operators in warmer climates invest in hybrid systems that use free cooling for a meaningful share of annual operating hours, this segment is expanding its addressable market beyond traditional cold-weather geographies.  

By application, server & IT hardware cooling is expected to dominate the global data center heat exchangers market during the forecast period.

Server & IT hardware cooling dominates application demand, accounting for the substantial majority of heat exchanger procurement value. This is inherent to the physics of data centers: IT equipment, including servers, storage, and networking, generates the preponderance of heat that must be managed, and the trend toward denser, higher-power hardware is compounding this already dominant demand signal. Cold plate systems, CDU heat exchangers, and rack-level liquid cooling assemblies all fall within this application category and are experiencing sustained growth as server power continues to climb.

Energy recovery and waste heat reuse is the fastest-growing application segment, albeit from a smaller base. As regulatory pressure mounts and sustainability commitments intensify, operators are increasingly specifying heat exchanger systems that deliver usable heat at temperatures suitable for district heating integration, typically 60-80°C. Manufacturers are responding with heat exchanger designs optimized for high leaving water temperatures, and consulting engineering firms are developing waste heat valorization business models that turn this application from a compliance cost into a revenue opportunity.

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North America is poised to dominate the global data center heat exchangers market throughout the forecast period.

North America is the largest regional market for data center heat exchangers, reflecting the United States’ unrivaled position as the global center of gravity for hyperscale cloud computing, AI research, and technology infrastructure investment. The US particularly the Northern Virginia corridor (Loudoun County’s “Data Center Alley”), Phoenix, Dallas, Atlanta, and Silicon Valley host the world’s largest hyperscale campuses. AWS, Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud are in multi-year, multi-billion-dollar capacity expansion cycles that include next-generation liquid cooling infrastructure as a standard design element. Canada is emerging as a secondary growth market, with Ontario and Quebec attracting hyperscale investment drawn by lower energy costs, hydroelectric power availability, and a favorable regulatory environment. Mexico, though smaller, is seeing growing colocation investment tied to nearshoring-driven enterprise demand.

Key Players

Key players in this market include Vertiv Group Corp. (US), Schneider Electric (France), Alfa Laval (Sweden), Rittal GmbH & Co. KG (Germany), and STULZ GmbH (Germany) and others.

Get access to the latest updates on Data Center Heat Exchangers Companies and Data Center Heat Exchangers Market Size

Browse Adjacent Market: Equipment Machine & Tooling Research Reports & Consulting

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Heat Exchanger Market – Global Forecast to 2030

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Air-Cooled Heat Exchanger Market – Global Forecast to 2029

Microchannel Heat Exchanger Market – Global Forecast to 2028

Plate and Tube Heat Exchanger Market – Global Forecast to 2028

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MarketsandMarkets™ is a blue ocean alternative in growth consulting and program management, leveraging a man-machine offering to drive supernormal growth for progressive organizations in the B2B space. With the widest lens on emerging technologies, we are proficient in co-creating supernormal growth for clients across the globe.

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Built on the ‘GIVE Growth’ principle, we collaborate with several Forbes Global 2000 B2B companies to keep them future-ready. Our insights and strategies are powered by industry experts, cutting-edge AI, and our Market Intelligence Cloud, KnowledgeStore™, which integrates research and provides ecosystem-wide visibility into revenue shifts.

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