Sustainable aviation fuel, renewable natural gas, artificial intelligence (AI), data centres and the energy transition have all become strong areas of interest for infrastructure investors in recent years, according to a report from the fourth-largest global infrastructure manager, IFM Investors.
The company’s new report titled Infrastructure Horizons 2025 highlighted the profound impact the AI revolution is expected to have on the infrastructure sector, particularly in the areas of data centre construction and electricity and fibre optics networks.
Sustainable aviation fuel and renewable natural gas sectors are also gaining in prominence, while data centres are being directly linked with renewable energy generation sites as developers seek to “follow the power”.
New world, new investment opportunities
“As infrastructure matures and develops as an asset class, it demands fresh thinking from asset allocators,” said IFM Investors chief strategy officer, Luba Nikulina.
“The opportunity set and investment universe of these infrastructure technology opportunities are only limited by the speed of technological developments emerging.
"These new opportunities span a range of important investment themes and megatrends, from capturing the energy transition to digitisation and automation.”
According to Nikulina, as the infrastructure class of assets matures, investors will need to disentangle the risk and return drivers of these assets, moving away from seeing infrastructure as a monolithic whole and using a risk factor-based approach.
Localised infrastructure investment
The outlook for the energy sector is particularly rosy, as demand is increasing at a rate not seen in decades.
The IFM report predicts a “rapid convergence of renewable power generation, energy storage and digital infrastructure to meet the surging power demand” from AI and similar technologies, while also keeping up with net-zero objectives and initiatives from data centre operators.
“Corporates are developing tailored solutions such as co-locating renewable energy sources with data centres to help ensure power security and to gain competitive advantages,” said IFM Investors executive director, Marigold Look.
Deglobalisation is also playing a part, as geopolitical instability and rising uncertainty within the global economy drive countries to secure their energy, mineral and manufacturing needs from sources closer to home.
“While we believe the global economy will remain fundamentally interconnected for years to come, we also believe there will be a renewed focus on reshoring of industries and building national economic self-sufficiency,” said IFM Investors Director Head of Product Specialists, Jacob Otto.
“Global trade and mobility will remain important, but as governments seek to protect their domestic economies and improve global competitiveness, we expect to see more protectionist policies.
“Infrastructure will need to evolve to meet these changing economic needs.”