US Data Center to Add Batteries Without Lithium Mined Overseas
The first battery will be installed in 2027 as part of a bid to provide reliable power.
A rendering of the data center.
Image courtesy of Prometheus HyperscaleA data center builder and a battery startup have agreed to deploy a novel type of energy storage for the first time at a US data center. It’s the latest example of tech companies’ search for ways to manage the soaring energy needs of artificial intelligence.
Prometheus Hyperscale and XL Batteries will install what’s known as an organic flow battery at the one-gigawatt data center Prometheus is building in Wyoming. The project will begin as a small pilot in 2027 with plans to install another 25 megawatts of energy storage in 2028 and 2029. Organic flow batteries are unique because they don’t require lithium and rely instead on pumping positive and negative electrolytes through stacks of power cells to store and release energy.