Energy Vault secures a 1.25 gigawatt power contract for AI data center operations, stock surges 18%.
Energy Vault Holdings (NRGV) shares surged 17.91% to $3.49 on Friday, then gained another 0.29% after hours to close at $3.50 following a major commercial agreement covering 1.25 gigawatts of power infrastructure for hyperscaler AI data centers. The deal represents Energy Vault's largest single contract and expands its role beyond traditional energy storage systems.
Under the agreement, Energy Vault will supply battery energy storage systems, grid-forming power conversion technology, and infrastructure control software. The company will combine these systems with dispatchable power generation and turnkey engineering services for large computing campuses to create an integrated platform capable of supporting demanding data center power requirements.
The planned systems will operate independently from traditional utility connections during initial deployment phases, allowing customers to bring computing capacity online faster than projects relying entirely on grid connections. Energy Vault expects initial deployments to begin within four to twelve months.
Large computing campuses require stable electricity as processing loads rise and fall throughout daily operations. Energy Vault designed its platform to coordinate generation and storage systems continuously across each site, with control software managing power flows while maintaining stable voltage and frequency. The system will reduce unnecessary generator cycling and improve fuel efficiency during changing computing workloads, and can respond rapidly when computing clusters create sudden changes in electricity consumption.
The modular design allows customers to expand power infrastructure as their computing campuses grow. Operators can later connect utility electricity, renewable generation, or other distributed energy resources to the existing platform, enabling them to start operations before permanent utility connections become available and expand capacity over time.
Energy Vault's strategic power infrastructure partner brings experience across natural gas engines, turbines, diesel systems, solar power, and hydrogen technologies. Energy Vault contributes battery systems, grid-forming technology, energy management software, and hybrid power integration capabilities. Both companies plan to deliver complete power systems rather than individual equipment packages, and will pursue additional hyperscaler, neocloud, and AI infrastructure projects targeting markets facing constrained grid capacity, long interconnection timelines, and rising electricity demand.