Distributed Energy

Data Center Developer Equinix Connecting to 100+ MW of Bloom Energy Fuel Cells

Feb. 21, 2025

Bloom Energy fuel-cell capacity is dedicated to powering Equinix’s International Business Exchange (IBX) data centers across the U.S. About 75 MW of that fuel-cell generation is already operational with another 30 MW under construction.

Rod Walton, EnergyTech Managing Editor

Inside view of an Equinix data center. Courtesy Equinix website/Interconnections blog page

Data center developer Equinix is extending its on-site power contract with fuel-cell provider Bloom Energy to exceed 100 MW of energy capacity across the company’s domestic digital infrastructure.

“As the demand for power increases, we anticipate innovation in alternative energy technologies increasingly playing a key role in the availability of power going forward,” David Rinard, vice president of energy operations at Equinix, said in a statement. “Bloom’s fuel cells allow us to generate cleaner and reliable electricity on-site at our data centers in a cost-effective way. We’re proud to have continued to expand our relationship with Bloom over the last decade and helped lead the industry forward.”

Fuel cells use an electrochemical process to convert a fuel, such as natural gas or hydrogen, into electricity with little to no air pollution.

On-site and sometimes off-grid power is becoming an increasingly critical consideration for data center companies as artificial intelligence (AI) and cloud-based capacity grow. More than 50 GW of new data center capacity is expected to be built out in the U.S. by the early 2030s, according to forecasts.

“Our fuel cells are supplementing grid power at 19 Equinix IBX data centers in six states with cleaner and reliable onsite power,” said Aman Joshi, Chief Commercial Officer at Bloom Energy. “With AI adoption accelerating and data center demand exploding, our ongoing relationship underscores the scalability and reliability of our fuel cell technology to support large and complex projects. We are delighted to work with Equinix to help drive the industry forward.”

Equinix develops AI-ready data centers for customers which have included Google, Oracle, Amazon Web Services, Hewlett Packard and Azure. The company has developed more than 85 data centers in North America and South America.

Equinix is working with Nvidia and Dell Technologies on scaling AI solutions. Several industry reports have ranked Equinix among the largest data center companies based in the U.S. with a Nasdaq market capitalization of about $89.5 billion.

Bloom Energy also partners with Chart Industries on developing carbon capture technologies connected to natural gas and fuel-cell power generation at the data centers. As part of the partnership, Chart will use its carbon capture know-how to process Bloom’s high-purity carbon dioxide exhaust stream into outputs that are ready for utilization or sequestration.

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About the Author

Rod Walton, EnergyTech Managing Editor | Senior Editor

For EnergyTech editorial inquiries, please contact Managing Editor Rod Walton at [email protected].

Rod Walton has spent 15 years covering the energy industry as a newspaper and trade journalist. He formerly was energy writer and business editor at the Tulsa World. Later, he spent six years covering the electricity power sector for Pennwell and Clarion Events. He joined Endeavor and EnergyTech in November 2021.

Walton earned his Bachelors degree in journalism from the University of Oklahoma. His career stops include the Moore American, Bartlesville Examiner-Enterprise, Wagoner Tribune and Tulsa World.

EnergyTech is focused on the mission critical and large-scale energy users and their sustainability and resiliency goals. These include the commercial and industrial sectors, as well as the military, universities, data centers and microgrids. The C&I sectors together account for close to 30 percent of greenhouse gas emissions in the U.S.

He was named Managing Editor for Microgrid Knowledge and EnergyTech starting July 1, 2023

Many large-scale energy users such as Fortune 500 companies, and mission-critical users such as military bases, universities, healthcare facilities, public safety and data centers, shifting their energy priorities to reach net-zero carbon goals within the coming decades. These include plans for renewable energy power purchase agreements, but also on-site resiliency projects such as microgrids, combined heat and power, rooftop solar, energy storage, digitalization and building efficiency upgrades.