Robotics Industry’s Power Demand Could Reach 363 TWh by 2035, Nearing France’s Nuclear Generation: Wood Mackenzie

The global robotics industry could consume 363 TWh of electricity annually by 2035, approaching France’s nuclear power generation of 373 TWh in 2025, according to new research from Wood Mackenzie. The projected increase in robotics-related electricity demand comes as global power infrastructure is already facing growing pressure from AI data centres.

According to Wood Mackenzie’s Embodied AI: How Robotics Are Accelerating Global Power Demand research, industrial robots are expected to account for 357 TWh of the projected demand by 2035, while humanoid robots could contribute an additional 6 TWh annually. The combined demand would represent a significant new load on electricity systems that is currently largely absent from energy capacity planning.

The number of industrial robots in operation globally currently stands at around 5 million, consuming approximately 78 TWh of electricity annually. Wood Mackenzie expects the operational fleet to reach 16 million units by 2035, assuming the current 12% annual growth rate is maintained. Annual robot installations have increased from around 200,000 in 2015 to 500,000 in 2025 and are expected to exceed 1 million by 2032.

China is expected to remain the dominant market for robotics. The country accounts for more than 70% of annual global industrial robot installations, while Chinese companies account for nearly 90% of humanoid robots currently deployed.

China State Grid is also demonstrating the growing use of robotics in critical infrastructure, with plans to spend US$1 billion in 2026 to procure 8,500 AI-enabled autonomous robots for more than 600 specialised tasks, including grid maintenance and live-line work on ultra-high-voltage power lines.

Humanoid robotics is also expected to expand rapidly. Wood Mackenzie projects the global humanoid robot stock to grow at more than 90% CAGR between 2025 and 2035, reaching more than 10 million units, with annual shipments exceeding 4 million. Average humanoid robot prices declined 93% between 2020 and 2025 to US$58,000, improving the economic case for wider adoption.

Wood Mackenzie estimates that if the global humanoid robot market reaches 1 billion units by 2050, electricity demand from humanoid robots alone could reach a level comparable to South Korea’s total electricity generation in 2026.

Robert Liew, Director, Integrated Energy Research at Wood Mackenzie, said increasing power constraints could become a limiting factor for robotics adoption, particularly as industrial robots already consume significant amounts of electricity and humanoid robots are expected to scale rapidly.

The research highlights that robotics demand has been driven by labour shortages, rising labour costs and supply-chain security concerns. Advances in computer vision, large language models and reinforcement learning are also expanding robotics applications across logistics, healthcare and field operations.