Bloom Energy lines up $25B to power AI data centers

What's the deal? Bloom Energy has secured $25 billion in project financing from Brookfield Asset ManagementDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → to build power infrastructure for AI data centers. The expanded agreement gives the fuel cell maker access to substantial third-party financing as it moves directly into the data center power bottleneck.

How it works: Bloom's Energy Server uses solid oxide fuel cells to turn natural gas, biogas, or hydrogen directly into electricity, skipping combustion entirely. Installed on-site, it bypasses the grid — eliminating the need for substations, transmission lines, or interconnection queues.

Why now? Data center electricity demand is still accelerating. AI data centers are projected to consume 11.8% of total US electricity by 2030, and providers are scrambling to meet it.

What's the endgame? Bloom is positioning its servers as a default onsite power source for AI infrastructure. In its second-quarter 2026 earnings release, chief executive officer KR Sridhar said every major US hyperscaler and more than a dozen US neoclouds, AI labs, and colocation operators have validated Bloom's power solutions.

"Bloom is now a standard for AI onsite power," Sridhar said.

The contrast: Rival fuel cell company Plug Power is taking the opposite path, largely sitting out the data center rush. It is focusing on its existing hydrogen businesses and aiming to reach profitability first.

The signal: The two companies face the same AI-driven power opportunity but are betting differently on how to capture it. Bloom is chasing scale through Brookfield's financing muscle; Plug is prioritising discipline. Whose strategy pays off first depends on how fast the power crunch tightens.

Image credit: BloomEnergy