Brenmiller Energy Ltd., a leading global provider of thermal energy storage (“TES”) solutions for industrial and utility markets, announced that it will expand its proprietary technology’s capabilities and develop a Cold Thermal Energy Storage (“CTES”) solution for data center applications, called the bGen™ Cool. The Company will continue bGen™ production for power-to-heat applications in service of its current commercial opportunities, valued at up to $500 million in potential sales.
The rapid integration of artificial intelligence (“AI”) computing into enterprise systems is driving unprecedented demand for power. According to a study published by the International Energy Agency in January 2024, it requires almost 10x more electricity to process a ChatGPT query than it does to run a typical Google search. A note published by Goldman Sachs research in May 2024 estimates that data center power demand will increase by more than 160% by 2030, growing from 1-2% to 3-4% of all power consumption worldwide and creating considerable upstream opportunity for innovation and investment in cooling and energy efficiency technologies. Leveraging the bGen™’s core competencies, Brenmiller expects minimal investment is needed to adapt its existing proprietary TES technology to meet data center demand.
“Data center needs are not too dissimilar from those of our flagship customer base, except they require cold water or air instead of heat or steam,” said Avi Brenmiller, chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Brenmiller Energy. “With fairly straightforward modifications to our bGen™ design, we are confident in our ability to deliver a cost-competitive and energy-efficient data center cooling solution to the market.”
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Similar to the value proposition for industrial power consumers, CTES systems can drive significant decarbonization and financial value for data center owners like Apple, Google and Meta. The bGen™’s modular design aligns with the data center industry’s trend toward prefabrication and modular (PFM) solutions, and its industry-leading fast-charging capabilities are well-suited to lower data center energy costs while delivering around-the-clock cooling and 24/7 operational reliability. With the ability to charge and discharge simultaneously or independently and on-demand, the bGen™ can also help alleviate data center strain on the grid and transform them into flexible balancing assets.
Brenmiller’s TES system, bGen™, converts electricity into heat to power sustainable industrial processes at a price that is competitive with natural gas. The bGen charges by capturing low-cost electricity from renewables or the grid and stores it in crushed rocks. It then discharges steam, hot water, or hot air on demand according to customer requirements. The bGen also supports the development of utility-scale renewables by providing critical flexibility and grid-balancing capabilities. In 2023, bGen™ was named among TIME’s Best Inventions in the Green Energy category.
Source: Businesswire