Brookfield to plough $7.7 billion into hydrogen fuel cell company as it “reimagines” AI data power needs

Global investment giant Brookfield Asset Management has announced plans to invest up to $US5 billion ($A7.7 billion) in Bloom Energy, a California based developer of fuel cell technology, in a bid to “reimagine” how to power AI infrastructure.

Bloom Energy was founded in 2001 and has developed a fuel cell system that it claims can provide “ultra-resilient, highly scalable onsite electricity generation for Fortune 500 companies around the world”, powering everything from data centres to semiconductor manufacturing and large utilities.

Bloom Energy has already deployed 1.5 gigawatts of low-carbon power across more than 1,200 installations globally, providing primary power, off-grid power, and power for microgrids. The “low-carbon” claim refers to the fact that Bloom Energy’s fuel cells can run on natural gas, biogas, or hydrogen.

Among those already using Bloom Energy’s fuel cell technology are American electric utility American Electric Power, digital infrastructure giant Equinix, and at select Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI) data centres in the US. 

Brookfield says its $US5 billion investment proposal aims to “implement a reimagined future for AI infrastructure”.

This is Brookfield’s first investment in its dedicated AI Infrastructure strategy, which is focused on investing in large AI factories, power solutions, compute infrastructure, and strategic capital partnerships.

Demand for foundational models and generative AI is increasing at a frightening pace, and so too is the demand for power to fuel the data centres providing these services.

According to research from Deloitte published earlier this year, “power demand from AI data centers in the United States could grow more than thirtyfold, reaching 123 gigawatts, up from 4 gigawatts in 2024.

Bloom Energy and Brookfield believe that fuel cells can deliver reliable, scalable, and clean onsite power that can be rapidly deployed to immediately meet the needs of AI factories, and all without relying on traditional electricity grids.

“AI infrastructure must be built like a factory – with purpose, speed, and scale,” said KR Sridhar, founder, chairman and CEO of Bloom Energy.

“Unlike traditional factories, AI factories demand massive power, rapid deployment and real-time load responsiveness that legacy grids cannot support. The lean AI factory is achieved with power, infrastructure, and compute designed in sync from day one.

“That principle guides our collaboration with Brookfield to reimagine the data center of the future. Together, we are creating a new blueprint for powering AI at scale.”

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