Project finance is shifting towards more complex, capital-intensive projects and a greater reliance on private capital.
Global project finance is entering a transformative era, driven by soaring demand for energy capacity, accelerated digitalisation and large-scale infrastructure upgrades, reshaping investment priorities worldwide. These insights come from new research commissioned by global business administration and compliance solutions provider CSC, based on responses from 200 project finance professionals, which reveal a market shifting toward more complex, capital-intensive projects and a greater reliance on private capital.
CSC’s latest report, Project Finance at an Inflection Point: Adapting to New Realities, reveals a sector that is rapidly expanding in both scale and complexity driven by capital increasingly targeting long-term, strategically critical assets.
Infrastructure emerged as the strongest area for future growth, identified by 70% of respondents, followed by renewables (48%) and technology, media and telecommunications (43%). Within renewables, wind tops expectations at 50%, while renewable natural gas and green hydrogen each stand at 41%, underscoring the accelerating momentum of energy transition technologies.
Regionally, Europe leads the global outlook, with 39% of respondents anticipating significant growth over the next three years, followed by the UK (35%), Asia-Pacific (32%) and North America (31%), reflecting a broadly diversified global investment pipeline.
Surging power consumption – driven largely by data centres supporting artificial intelligence and rapid digitalisation – is reshaping investment priorities. Energy, TMT, transportation and social infrastructure, along with critical minerals, are poised to anchor the next wave of project finance activity.
“AI will drive an unprecedented surge in project financing, particularly for data centres that demand massive power generation capacity,” said Christian Oakley-White, managing director and head of project finance at CSC. “As data centre usage shifts from cloud services to generative AI, the requirements for computing power, energy and financing will grow exponentially. Unlike cloud infrastructure, which was largely funded through big tech’s internal cashflows, the estimated $1.5 trillion gap created by AI’s capacity demands will require a far broader investor base and financing structures – from private equity and sovereign wealth funds to bank loans, public debt markets and private credit.
Financing sources are already diversifying. More than half of respondents (53%) now identify private equity as a primary source of equity funding – alongside infrastructure funds and development finance institutions – while 38% point to private credit as an increasingly important contributor. On the debt side, private debt (45%) is closely aligned with infrastructure platforms (48%) as well as both local (45%) and international (42%) syndicated loans.
Accelerating activity is bringing heightened execution pressures. KYC (customer identification) requirements are cited by 80% of respondents as the biggest challenge, followed by tight financing deadlines (69%) and regulatory compliance (67%).
As a result, respondents are placing greater value on operational support, with 60% citing innovative technology solutions offering real-time transparency as the most critical capability in a trust and agency partner, while 58% emphasise the importance of comprehensive administrative and bespoke services to manage complex, cross-border, multi-stakeholder transactions.
“The global demand for new energy, infrastructure and digital capacity is outpacing traditional financing channels,” said Bryan Gartenberg, managing director, global head of PF services origination at CSC. “Private capital is stepping in to bridge the gap, but today’s deals demand more than funding alone. Stakeholders need partners with deep expertise and operational discipline to manage complex, cross-border transactions. Outsourcing to experienced trust and agency providers is becoming essential to deliver large-scale projects with speed and confidence,” Gartenberg said.
