Bloom Energy’s 2025 AI Data Center Surge: How SOFCs Are Powering a High-Growth Market

Bloom Energy’s Commercial Projects Signal a Shift to Essential AI Infrastructure in 2025

Bloom Energy has pivoted from a niche clean energy provider to an essential infrastructure supplier for the artificial intelligence industry. Prior to 2025, the company’s adoption was characterized by incremental deployments for general data center power and resiliency, such as its long-standing collaboration with Equinix. The year 2025 marks a definitive shift to large-scale, strategic partnerships specifically designed to solve the acute power crisis created by AI, with deployments measured in gigawatts and agreements valued in the billions. This change demonstrates that the market now views Bloom Energy’s on-site power solutions not just as a clean alternative, but as a critical enabler of AI’s aggressive expansion.

• Between 2021 and 2024, industry adoption was steady but smaller in scale, focusing on providing reliable power and reducing carbon footprints for companies like Intel and data center operators like Equinix and CoreSite. These projects validated the technology for mission-critical operations but were not yet a response to an industry-wide power deficit.
• In 2025, adoption scaled dramatically with landmark agreements targeting the AI power bottleneck, including a $5 billion partnership with Brookfield Asset Management to build global “AI factories” and a deal with Oracle promising power delivery in just 90 days. This speed directly contrasts with the multi-year wait times for grid connections, establishing a new core value proposition.
• The company also moved from direct-to-customer sales to utility-scale agreements, highlighted by the deal to supply up to 1 GW of fuel cells to American Electric Power (AEP). This strategic evolution positions Bloom Energy as a key partner to utilities struggling to meet the explosive demand from new data centers in their service areas.
• While earlier projects focused on reliability, the new wave of 2025 projects emphasizes “time to power” and immense scale. The AEP and Brookfield deals alone dwarf the company’s entire prior data center portfolio, which stood at just over 400 MW, signaling an exponential increase in commercial validation.

Investment Analysis: How AI-Focused Capital Is Fueling Bloom Energy’s 2025 Expansion

Investment in Bloom Energy has transformed in 2025, shifting from conventional corporate financing and green bonds to massive, targeted capital commitments aimed squarely at the AI data center market. Before 2025, the company raised funds through mechanisms like its $250 million Green Notes program to support general clean energy projects. The period since has been defined by multi-billion-dollar strategic investments, led by infrastructure giants, validating the company’s role as a primary power provider for the AI revolution.

Table: Bloom Energy’s Strategic Investments for AI Data Center Power

Partnership Analysis: Bloom Energy’s Strategic Alliances for AI Dominance

Bloom Energy’s partnership strategy has evolved from customer-supplier relationships to deep, strategic alliances with hyperscalers, utilities, and infrastructure investors. The period from 2021 to 2024 saw collaborations that established its technology in the data center space, such as with Intel and CoreWeave. In contrast, 2025 is defined by transformative, gigawatt-scale agreements that cement its position as a critical enabler of the AI industry, capable of delivering power at a speed and scale that the traditional grid cannot match.

Table: Bloom Energy’s Key AI and Data Center Partnerships

Geographic Analysis: How Bloom Energy Is Expanding from the U.S. to a Global AI Power Strategy

Bloom Energy‘s geographic focus is expanding from a primarily U.S.-based strategy to a global deployment model driven by the worldwide demand for AI data center power. While the period between 2021 and 2024 saw strong activity in U.S. tech hubs like Silicon Valley and established international markets like South Korea, the company’s strategy in 2025 has become explicitly global. This shift is a direct result of partnerships with international infrastructure players aimed at addressing the universal challenge of grid capacity constraints.

• Between 2021 and 2024, Bloom Energy‘s key projects were concentrated in the United States, including a major capacity agreement with Intel in Santa Clara, California, and deployments for CoreWeave in Illinois. The company also executed large-scale projects in South Korea, such as an 80 MW installation, demonstrating its capability in established Asian markets.
• The year 2025 marked the launch of a global expansion strategy, headlined by the $5 billion Brookfield partnership to build “AI factories” worldwide. This agreement moves beyond regional deployments to a standardized, global infrastructure model.
• A key signal of this global push is the planned announcement of the first joint Brookfield-Bloom AI data center site in Europe. This project represents a significant entry into the European market, which faces similar grid congestion and power demand issues as the U.S.
• While the U.S. remains a core market, with the massive 1 GW AEP agreement covering its domestic service territories, the new strategy is to replicate this success internationally. This is further supported by collaborations in Taiwan, where the government is looking to hydrogen fuel cells to power its own AI data center ambitions.

Technology Maturity: Bloom Energy’s SOFCs Are at Commercial Scale and Optimized for AI

Bloom Energy‘s Solid Oxide Fuel Cell (SOFC) technology has matured from a commercially available clean power source to a highly optimized solution specifically tailored for the demands of the AI industry. The period between 2021 and 2024 was focused on proving the technology’s core capabilities, including its fuel flexibility and reliability at scale. Since the start of 2025, the focus has shifted to demonstrating superior performance metrics critical for AI data centers, such as rapid deployment speed, high power density, and market-leading electrical efficiency.

• From 2021 to 2024, Bloom Energy achieved key technological milestones that laid the groundwork for its current market position. This included the commercial launch of its 100% hydrogen-powered fuel cells in 2021 and the announcement of a hydrogen SOFC achieving 60% electrical efficiency in 2024.
• The year 2025 has been about validating this technology at an unprecedented commercial scale and speed. The agreement with Oracle, promising to power an entire data center in just 90 days, serves as a powerful market validation of its rapid, modular deployment advantage over traditional power infrastructure.
• The company’s technology now offers market-leading electrical efficiency of 54% on natural gas and a power density of 100 MW per acre. These metrics are critical for land-constrained data center campuses and provide a compelling economic case for operators.
• Beyond core power generation, Bloom Energy is advancing its technology for AI-specific applications. This includes integrated heat capture systems that can be used for liquid cooling, which is increasingly necessary for high-density AI hardware, improving the overall energy efficiency of the data center.

SWOT Analysis: Bloom Energy’s Strategic Position in the AI Power Market

Table: SWOT Analysis of Bloom Energy’s AI Data Center Strategy

Forward-Looking Insights: Execution and Hydrogen Transition Are Key to Bloom Energy’s Future

Bloom Energy‘s primary focus in the coming year will be executing its massive project backlog while simultaneously proving the commercial viability of its green hydrogen transition path. The company has successfully secured its position as a dominant near-term solution for the AI power crisis, but its long-term relevance depends on its ability to deliver on current promises and decarbonize its offerings. The market will be watching for tangible progress on both fronts as key indicators of its sustained success.

• The most critical milestone is meeting its manufacturing capacity target of 2 GW by 2026. Achieving this goal is essential to fulfilling the large-scale commitments made to partners like Brookfield and AEP and maintaining its core competitive advantage of rapid deployment.
• Market participants will closely watch for the announcement of the first “AI factory” site under the $5 billion Brookfield partnership. This project, expected to be in Europe, will serve as the primary proof point for their global deployment strategy and its economic model.
• A successful demonstration of a commercial-scale data center transitioning from natural gas to green hydrogen using Bloom Energy‘s SOFCs is imperative. This will be a critical validation of the company’s long-term sustainability narrative and its ability to compete with fully renewable solutions.
• The actual rate of market adoption for onsite power will be a key metric to monitor. Bloom Energy projects that onsite generation will fully power 27% of data centers by 2030, and tracking progress against this forecast will indicate its ability to capture and maintain its lead in this expanding market.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the biggest change in Bloom Energy’s strategy in 2025?
In 2025, Bloom Energy pivoted from being a niche clean energy provider to an essential infrastructure supplier for the AI industry. The company shifted its focus to large-scale, strategic partnerships designed to solve the AI power crisis, with a new value proposition centered on rapid deployment (‘time to power’) and massive scale, as demonstrated by deals measured in gigawatts and valued in billions.

Why are AI data centers choosing Bloom Energy’s fuel cells over the traditional power grid?
AI data centers are turning to Bloom Energy primarily for speed and availability. Connecting to the traditional power grid can take multiple years, whereas Bloom has demonstrated it can deliver onsite power in as little as 90 days. This speed is critical for the aggressive expansion of AI. Additionally, Bloom’s on-site solutions bypass existing grid constraints and help close the growing power deficit created by explosive AI demand.

What are the most significant partnerships driving Bloom Energy’s growth in the AI sector?
The most significant partnerships in 2025 include a deal with Brookfield Asset Management for up to $5 billion to build global ‘AI factories,’ a supply agreement with American Electric Power (AEP) for up to 1 GW of fuel cells, and a collaboration with Oracle to deploy power to data centers within 90 days. These agreements dwarf the company’s entire prior data center portfolio.

If Bloom’s fuel cells run on natural gas, how does that fit with the sustainability goals of tech companies?
The article notes this as a key challenge. While the fuel cells currently offer high efficiency (54%) on natural gas, Bloom Energy’s long-term strategy is based on its technology being ‘hydrogen-ready.’ The company’s Solid Oxide Fuel Cells (SOFCs) can transition from natural gas to green hydrogen, allowing customers to decarbonize over time. A key future goal for the company is to demonstrate this transition at a commercial scale to align with clients’ net-zero targets.

What is a Solid Oxide Fuel Cell (SOFC) and why is it suited for AI data centers?
A Solid Oxide Fuel Cell (SOFC) is the core technology used by Bloom Energy. It generates clean and reliable electricity through an electrochemical process. According to the article, it is highly suited for AI data centers due to its market-leading electrical efficiency (54-60%), high power density (100 MW per acre), fuel flexibility (natural gas to hydrogen), and modular design, which enables rapid deployment to meet the urgent power needs of the AI industry.