AES Tech is urging data centers to reduce reliance on the traditional power grid by developing localized energy solutions.
Data center construction has become one of the most contentious issues in the United States and abroad. Residents are increasingly questioning whether newly built facilities will drive up electricity costs, strain local grids, and introduce additional polluting backup generators into their communities.
AES Tech, a South Korean startup, is proposing a technical solution to part of this challenge: producing hydrogen on-site from liquid ammonia and using it to displace a portion of the natural gas currently burned in data center power turbines.
This approach does not instantly resolve the broader energy dilemma, but it establishes a benchmark the industry should adopt. When a facility requires substantial new power capacity, it should deploy its own supporting infrastructure—one that is cleaner and safer than the diesel generators and supplemental systems often associated with rapid data center expansion.
The company’s system, named ammoNOVA, is engineered to extract hydrogen directly from anhydrous liquid ammonia at the point of use. Rather than transporting compressed hydrogen and storing it under high pressure, customers can safely stockpile ammonia and convert it into hydrogen on demand.
The generated hydrogen is then blended with natural gas and combusted in a turbine to generate electricity—a process known as co-firing. Although emissions are not eliminated, they can be significantly reduced depending on the fuel blend ratio and the hydrogen source.
Crucially, the objective is not to power artificial intelligence at any expense. Instead, it aims to provide energy-intensive facilities with a reliable alternative during periods of grid congestion, reducing reliance on diesel and gradually displacing fossil-based natural gas.
The International Energy Agency projects that global data center electricity consumption will more than double, reaching approximately 945 terawatt-hours by 2030. In numerous U.S. communities, the real-world implications are already evident: new data center proposals frequently clash with concerns over transmission capacity, water usage, local generation limits, and whether local taxpayers will ultimately foot the bill for necessary grid upgrades.
A facility capable of generating even a portion of its own cleaner fuel during peak demand could substantially lower its grid dependence. In theory, this would prevent local grids from bearing the full brunt of power surges driven by AI campuses. Additionally, it offers a cleaner alternative to relying exclusively on diesel generators during outages or peak-load events.
During an interview in Seoul with CEO Jaehong Jeffrey Chun, one operational detail stood out: AES Tech can control the electrochemical system’s output in real time, allowing hydrogen production to dynamically track a turbine’s fluctuating fuel demand.
AES Tech CEO Jaehong Jeffrey Chun (left) during an interview with Ubergizmo Editor-in-Chief Hubert Nguyen | Photo by AVING News
Electricity demand is inherently volatile. When a data center requires additional power, an effective on-site system must respond rapidly. AES Tech maintains that its electrochemical method achieves this responsiveness without relying on the high-temperature thermal cracking typically required to break down ammonia.
Composed of nitrogen and hydrogen, ammonia is split via electrolysis in the ammoNOVA system. This process yields hydrogen for the turbine while releasing nitrogen as a byproduct. According to the company, the system also captures unreacted ammonia and continuously purifies the produced hydrogen.
Hydrogen co-firing is already technically viable. For instance, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries recently reported testing a 20 percent hydrogen-by-volume blend in a large gas turbine at a Georgia power plant, noting that the mixture reduced CO₂ emissions by approximately 7 percent compared to natural gas alone (PDF link).
Nevertheless, ammonia is not inherently environmentally friendly, and scrutiny regarding its lifecycle impact is warranted. The ecological benefits of this approach are only realized when the ammonia originates from a verifiably low-carbon supply chain and when the generated hydrogen meaningfully displaces fossil-derived natural gas.
Founded in 2022, AES Tech remains in its early developmental stages. The company states it is specifically targeting power solutions for AI data centers and has submitted its ammoNOVA Ultra system for consideration in the CES 2027 Innovation Awards.