(Bloomberg) -- Trafigura Group is “incredibly bullish” on demand for electricity as it joins other trading houses in building out a global power trading business.

“Electrification of the vehicle fleet, AI — all these things are massively power-intensive,” said Richard Holtum, Trafigura’s global head of gas, power and renewables, at the Financial Times Commodities Global Summit in Lausanne, Switzerland.

Traders are building out power desks from Japan to Canada as tightly regulated electricity markets begin to open up, allowing participants from overseas to buy and sell physical units.

“There’s a growing realization that the one piece that binds the traditional fossil and the energy transition is the electron,” Holtum said.

Trafigura doesn’t disclose it’s annual traded volumes in power, but said in its most recent annual report that it had increased volumes and signed several offtake deals with power plants.

“As more and more grids get liberalized, the trading sphere gets even larger,” said Holtum.

©2024 Bloomberg L.P.