Adapted by:
Matías S. Zavia
WriterAerospace and energy industries journalist at Xataka.
Alba Mora
WriterAn established tech journalist, I entered the world of consumer tech by chance in 2018. In my writing and translating career, I've also covered a diverse range of topics, including entertainment, travel, science, and the economy.
What factors contributed to a startup focused on building data centers securing $11.6 billion in funding? In the case of Crusoe Energy Systems, a supplier of renewable energy, it all began with a compelling and profitable idea: constructing data centers next to natural gas wells.
The Crusoe Energy Concept
Bloomberg recently reported on Crusoe’s plant in Abilene, Texas. There, the company is developing the ambitious Stargate data centers. They’re part of a $500 billion project by OpenAI, SoftBank, and Oracle aimed at creating general artificial intelligence.
Crusoe Energy became involved with Stargate due to its established efficiency in constructing AI-specialized data centers. Crusoe CEO Chase Lochmiller explained how the company was conceived:
“When an oil company drills for oil, one of the associated byproducts is natural gas. And when they don’t have access to a pipeline, all of this associated gas is just being burned off on-site. So, we had this concept that instead of trying to bring that gas to a market where you can sell it, we could bring a market to the gas. We could build these mobile and modular data centers and bring them directly to the wellhead, and then use that power to power the data centers.”
Crusoe launched in an ideal location for this concept: a country engaging in fracking. However, the timing wasn’t perfect. Initially, it focused on building GPU farms for bitcoin mining. However, when the cryptocurrency market crashed, it pivoted its strategy toward artificial intelligence.
Similar to crypto mining, AI data centers don’t rely on CPUs but instead use the parallel processing power of thousands of GPUs, primarily specialized chips from Nvidia. As a result, these new data centers consume significantly more energy than traditional data centers. This gives companies like Crusoe a key advantage: direct access to fossil fuels at lower prices.
A Booming Business
Oil giants are adapting to this trend. For instance, ExxonMobil is developing off-grid gas plants specifically designed for data centers, incorporating carbon capture technology to reduce emissions. Chevron has also partnered with Engine No. 1 and GE Vernova to establish similar facilities, with the first expected to open in 2026 in Texas.
The demand speaks for itself. The need for natural gas in data centers is projected to increase by 47 GW between now and 2030. Currently, natural gas powers around 40% of server loads in the U.S. and is expected to remain the primary energy source until at least 2030.
While natural gas may not be the preferred energy source, renewable options aren’t enough to meet the energy demands of artificial intelligence. Additionally, not all data centers can connect to nuclear power plants, which are also common in the U.S.
Regarding Crusoe, its collaboration with shale oil companies has facilitated the development of innovative technologies. This includes a closed-loop cooling system that doesn’t require replacing the water evaporated by the servers. The company also installs its own gas turbines as a backup power source. In the Stargate project, these turbines have a capacity of 360 MW.
Solar panels and wind turbines, which are abundant in Abilene due to favorable wind and sunlight conditions, will primarily power Stargate’s servers. This is one reason for the proliferation of data centers in this area of Texas, alongside tax exemptions that local governments offer in exchange for job creation. However, it remains to be seen how many jobs these facilities will retain once fully operational.
Image | Tarun Rana
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