Engine No. 1 and Chevron have announced the formation of a partnership to build a new company to develop scalable, reliable power solutions for U.S. based data centres running on U.S. natural gas. Early actions of the Trump Administration are setting the critical foundation to encourage investment leveraging America’s energy abundance to enable America’s AI leadership.
The first projects, which the companies refer to as ‘power foundries’, are expected to leverage seven U.S. made GE Vernova 7HA natural gas turbines, secured under a slot reservation agreement, on an accelerated timeline. The projects are expected to serve co-located data centres in the U.S. Southeast, Midwest and West regions. Power generation is not designed to flow initially through the existing transmission grid, reducing the risk of increasing electricity prices for consumers.
The companies’ plans directly address the need for affordable, reliable energy to meet the significant demand for electricity to power U.S. data centres, enabling current and future generations of AI to be developed in the U.S. The joint development plans to deliver up to four GW, the equivalent of powering 3-3.5 million U.S. homes, with initial in-service targeted by the end of 2027 and potential for project expansion beyond this capacity. The projects are expected to be designed with the flexibility to integrate lower carbon solutions, such as carbon capture and storage (CCS), which is capable of capturing 90% of the CO2 from the turbines, and renewable energy resources.
Chris James, founder and chief investment officer of Engine No. 1 says: ‘Energy is the key to America’s AI dominance. By using abundant domestic natural gas to generate electricity directly connected to data centres, we can secure AI leadership, drive productivity gains across our economy and restore America’s standing as an industrial superpower. This partnership with Chevron and GE Vernova addresses the biggest energy challenge we face.’
