Hitachi Energy to invest $457M in Virginia expansion

Hitachi Energy announced Thursday it will invest $1 billion to expand its U.S. grid infrastructure manufacturing, with roughly half of that investment going into Virginia, where it plans to add 825 jobs.

The electrical equipment manufacturer will invest $457 million to build the nation’s largest manufacturing site for large power transformers in South Boston, Hitachi and Gov. Glenn Youngkin announced. The large power transformers to be produced at the plant will support large-scale industrial applications like high-voltage transmission lines, power generation and fast-growing AI data centers.

Construction on the new South Boston plant will commence before the end of 2025 and the new manufacturing facility should be operational by 2028, a Hitachi spokesperson said.

“Thank you, Hitachi Energy, for trusting Virginia again,” the governor said in a statement. “Hard-working Virginians and a business-friendly environment are what first brought Hitachi Energy to the commonwealth. Now, after years of success here, they are doubling down on that decision with this landmark investment in South Boston.”

The new one plant will be built alongside Hitachi’s existing transformer manufacturing facility in South Boston, which has been in operation since 1968 and has 670 employees. In June 2024, Hitachi announced it would invest $26 million to expand that facility, creating about 100 jobs. This April, Hitachi also said it would invest $22.5 million to upgrade its Bland County facility and to add a warehouse in Atkins, creating 120 jobs.

“Power transformers are a linchpin technology for a robust and reliable electric grid and winning the AI race,” Hitachi Energy CEO Andreas Schierenbeck said in a statement. “Bringing production of large power transformers to the U.S. is critical to building a strong domestic supply chain for the U.S. economy and reducing production bottlenecks, which is essential as demand for these transformers across the economy is surging. As the global leader in electrification, Hitachi Energy is uniquely positioned to deliver critical power solutions for the American market.”

The company’s investments in expanding its manufacturing capacity, including at South Boston, “are already creating good-paying American jobs, strengthening local communities, and reinforcing economic independence,”  Schierenbeck added. “At Hitachi Energy, we are deeply grateful for the leadership and support of the Trump administration, Gov. Youngkin, Virginia’s General Assembly, and the commonwealth’s congressional delegation, who came together to make this critical production capacity possible to power our energy future.”

The Virginia Economic Development Partnership, Halifax County, the Southern Virginia Regional Alliance and the General Assembly’s Major Employment and Investment (MEI) Project Approval Commission secured the project for the state. Hitachi will be eligible to receive an MEI custom performance grant of $29.4 million for site preparation and facility costs, subject to approval by the General Assembly.

To provide housing options for the new employees Hitachi plans to hire, Youngkin announced that Halifax County and Virginia Housing are partnering to build 96 homes, supported by a grant from the Virginia Workforce Housing Investment Program. The county donated 10 acres of land near the energy facility and will waive permit and connection fees for housing construction.

The new South Boston facility is a component of the $1 billion Hitachi on Thursday announced it would be spending to expand its manufacturing efforts to meet the growing needs of U.S. power grid infrastructure. The company says the investments will help meet “skyrocketing energy demand” driven by AI data centers, which is in line with the Trump Administration’s White House AI Action Plan that aims to increase electrical supply for the expansion of artificial intelligence.

Reuters reported in Dec. 2024, based on a Department of Energy-backed study, that U.S. data-center power demand could nearly triple in the next three years, consuming as 12% of the country’s electricity.

Headquartered in Switzerland, Hitachi Energy serves customers in the utility, industry, transportation, data centers and infrastructure sectors. In 2024, the company announced plans to invest more than $6 billion globally through 2027 to strengthen the resilience and capacity of the world’s electrical grids. The company employs around 50,000 people in 60 countries and generated annual revenue of approximately $16 billion for 2024.