Equinix, Inc., the world’s digital infrastructure company®, has officially confirmed an assortment of partnerships with leading energy companies that are currently in the process of developing innovative approaches to generate reliable and sustainable electricity.
According to certain reports, all these collaborations are geared towards supporting the needs of Equinix data centers currently operating across the globe.
More on the same would reveal how the stated effort marks an extension of the company’s diversified portfolio power strategy, which was conceived to mitigate potential power constraints in the future through traditional power arrangements with utilities, as well as by combining new on-site power generation technologies and exploring next generation nuclear energy.
To understand the significance of such a development, we must take into account one International Energy Agency’s report, where it was revealed that world’s electricity consumption is projected to grow 4% annually through 2027, marking the fastest pace in recent years. As for the factors driving this surge, the answer resides in unprecedented electrification, data center expansion, and resurgence in industrial manufacturing.
In a pursuit of handling the given load, Equinix is actively funding and supporting advanced transmission system upgrades with utility partners, including new substations to enhance grid reliability and emergency backup solutions that benefit all ratepayers during power interruptions.
The company is further investing in power solutions, such as fuel cells and natural gas to enhance operations, while simultaneously bolstering capacity resources to the grids where it operates.
In case that wasn’t enough, Equinix has also mobilized efforts to support the development of advanced nuclear technologies capable of delivering reliable, clean power in the future.
“Access to round-the-clock electricity is critical to support the infrastructure that powers everything from AI-driven drug discovery to cloud-based video streaming,” said Raouf Abdel, Executive Vice President of Global Operations at Equinix. “As energy demand increases, we believe we have an opportunity and responsibility to support the development of reliable, sustainable, scalable energy infrastructure that can support our collective future. By working with our energy partners, we believe we can support the energy needs of our customers and communities around the world.”
Talk about Equinix’s partners on a slightly deeper level, we begin from Oklo. You see, back in 2024, Equinix marked an industry-first development when it signed an agreement with a small modular reactor (SMR) company. The organization basically agreed to procure 500MW of energy from Oklo’s next-generation fission Aurora powerhouses.
For better understanding, Oklo’s fast reactors incorporate inherent safety features and can be fueled by nuclear waste.
Next up, we have Radiant, a company coming onboard as a part of Equinix’s latest announcement. This particular agreement stipulates the purchase of 20 of Radiant’s Kaleidos microreactors. In essence, Kaleidos bring forth a reliable, long-lasting energy source which can be transported anywhere it’s needed, installed in days, and deployed safely alongside existing equipment.
Another company worth a mention would be ULC-Energy with Rolls-Royce SMR. Equinix will procure from ULC-Energy a PPA up to 250 MWe, all for the purpose. of powering its data centers in the Netherlands.
Moving on, Equinix also announced a pre-order power agreement with Stellaria, for 500 MWe to expand data centers across Europe.
Stellaria is a company best-known for offering the very first molten salt Breed & Burn reactor in the world. It can breed, markedly enough, 100% of its liquid fissile fuel inside the reactor without refueling. Not just that, it will also recycle spent fuels and burn long life waste.
Beyond that, there is Bloom Energy, a company which will empower Equinix in the context of expanding its deployment of solid-oxide fuel cells to more than 100MW at over 19 data centers across six states providing onsite power generation.
All in all, these fuel cells will help the company avoid 285,000 MTCO2e emissions and 382 billion gallons of embedded water use.
“The potential challenges to powering reliable and sustainable digital infrastructure are considerable,” said Ali Ruckteschler, Senior Vice President and Chief Procurement Officer at Equinix. “However, Equinix has always been at the forefront of energy innovation, signing the data center industry’s first agreement with a SMR provider and pioneering the use of fuel cells a decade ago.”
