Renaud Saleur, a former trader at Soros Quantum Fund, predicts that global electricity consumption will increase by approximately 18,000 terawatt-hours from the current level of about 20,000 terawatt-hours by 2035 to 2040. This massive demand is expected to drive substantial investments in copper, aluminum, cables, and nuclear energy. He anticipates that uranium prices could reach $200 by the end of 2027.
A senior hedge fund manager who once worked for Soros' Quantum Fund believes that the real decade-level investment opportunity lies not in AI chips, but in copper, aluminum, cables, and uranium mines that provide infrastructure for the global electrification transition.
Renaud Saleur, founder and CEO of Anaconda Invest, a Geneva-based firm managing $110 million, stated that the structural growth in global electricity demand will bring double-digit returns over the next decade. He estimates that by 2035 to 2040, global electricity consumption will increase by approximately 18,000 terawatt-hours (TWh) from the current level of about 20,000 TWh, driving large-scale investments in copper, aluminum, cables, and nuclear energy.
Saleur's Vulcain Global Volta Electron for AI Fund, established in February 2025, has risen nearly 50%. The fund allocates 40% of its assets to commodities and 60% to equities. He clearly stated that AI data centers account for only about 1,000 TWh of the additional electricity demand and are not the dominant factor; the true investment theme lies in physical assets supporting the entire electrification infrastructure.
Electrification Demand Drives Copper Cable Investment
Saleur’s core logic is based on the structural gap in global energy consumption.
He pointed out that India's per capita annual energy consumption is equivalent to just 1.7 to 2 barrels of oil, compared to 24 barrels in the United States. As India's population is expected to double by 2040, its energy demand will rise significantly in tandem.
To meet the growing demand for power transmission, Saleur estimates that an additional 100 million kilometers of cables will be required globally, which is twice the annual global copper consumption. Based on this, he focuses on base metals such as copper and aluminum, as well as mining companies involved in cable manufacturing and leading European cable firms, including France's Nexans, Italy's Prysmian, and Denmark's NKT.
Uranium Prices Expected to Reach $200 by End of 2027
Nuclear energy is another major bet for Anaconda.
Saleur holds positions in uranium itself and related mining companies but advises investors to remain patient. He cited the historical precedent of the 1973 oil crisis—when uranium prices were just $4 per pound and rose to $77 by 1997—to explain the long-term upward logic of uranium prices.
Saleur predicts that uranium prices will rise from the current level of approximately $85 per pound to $200 by the end of 2027, citing an annual global supply deficit of about 30,000 tons.
He also pointed out that even before the current geopolitical tensions, there were plans to increase the number of nuclear reactors globally by 50% by 2040, and he believes the actual growth will far exceed this projection.
"Regardless of Trump's policy direction, uranium will be a beneficiary," he said. "However, both uranium mining and reactor construction require more than a decade, making it difficult to rapidly respond to supply shortages in the short term."
Oilfield services outperform crude oil itself
In the oil and gas sector, Saleur believes that market expectations for oil prices are overly pessimistic. He revealed that Anaconda purchased Brent crude futures contracts for December 2026 and December 2027 earlier this year. Calculated on a continuous contract basis, Brent crude has risen by 73% this year.
He argues that insufficient exploration by major oil companies and continuously declining reserves will lead to tighter crude oil supplies. However, he favors the oilfield services sector over crude oil itself. His Vulcain Long-Short Oil and Gas Fund has surged nearly 110% since its inception in January 2022, with 80% of its positions concentrated in oilfield service companies, including Borr Drilling and Transocean. He stated that post-war reconstruction in the Middle East and the need to maintain or boost production capacity will bring sustained business growth to oilfield service companies.
Regarding the situation in the Strait of Hormuz, Saleur expects that even if hostilities cease, it will take at least six to seven months for the channel to return to normal operations.
His scenario analysis for oil prices is as follows: If the conflict ends today, Brent crude will trade between $80 and $90 per barrel by the end of the year; if the conflict persists, oil prices will remain in the range of $90 to $100 for an extended period.
AI investment preference leans toward 'bricks and mortar' rather than chips
Although Saleur does not deny the long-term impact of AI, his investment strategy in the AI field clearly diverges from the mainstream market.
He tends to avoid chip stocks with high valuations and instead focuses on entities providing cooling and infrastructure services for data centers.
He specifically mentioned Sweden's Munters (approximately 30% of its revenue comes from data center operations), Italy's Carel, as well as the United States' Carrier and Japan's Daikin Industries, stating that these companies will directly benefit from the expansion wave of data centers and have relatively reasonable valuations.
Editor/Deng