AWS Fuel Cell Strategy 2025: How On-Site Power Is Fueling the AI Revolution

Industry Adoption: How AWS is Leading the Hyperscaler Pivot to On-Site Fuel Cell Power

Amazon Web Services (AWS) is executing a decisive pivot toward on-site fuel cell power, a strategic shift driven by the exponential energy demands of AI and mounting grid constraints. This move from exploration to aggressive implementation marks a new phase in data center energy strategy. Between 2021 and 2024, AWS’s approach was characterized by large-scale ambition and critical learning. The company advanced its long-standing partnership with Plug Power, deploying over 17,000 hydrogen fuel cells in its logistics fleet, and took a major step toward vertical integration by installing a 1 MW on-site electrolyzer in Colorado to produce its own green hydrogen. Concurrently, it planned a massive 75 MW primary power project using Bloom Energy’s natural gas-fed solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) for its Oregon data center cluster. However, this plan was scrapped in June 2024 due to regulatory hurdles, a pivotal moment that exposed the risks of relying on fossil-fuel-based solutions, even highly efficient ones. This setback did not deter AWS but instead refined its strategy.

Beginning in 2025, the strategy has matured from direct operation to strategic partnership. The inflection point came in June 2025 with the regulatory approval of a landmark project in Ohio. In a new model, AWS is directly funding the installation of 72.9 MW of Bloom Energy SOFCs to be operated by utility AEP Ohio “behind-the-meter.” This framework gives AWS direct control over its power supply, bypasses grid upgrade delays, and provides a replicable template for other power-constrained regions. This pivot validates fuel cells as a commercially viable, scalable solution to the immediate power bottleneck created by the AI boom, which is projected to drive the AI server market to $1.56 trillion by 2034. While the Ohio project uses natural gas, AWS is simultaneously piloting hydrogen-powered trucks and exploring hydrogen-fed fuel cells with Bloom, signaling a clear, two-pronged approach: solve today’s power crisis with natural gas SOFCs while building the green hydrogen ecosystem for tomorrow.

Table: AWS Strategic Investments in Data Center and Fuel Cell Infrastructure

Table: Key AWS Fuel Cell and Energy Partnerships

Geography: AWS’s Fuel Cell Strategy Shifts from the Pacific Northwest to the Midwest

The geographic focus of AWS’s fuel cell strategy has undergone a significant and strategic shift. Between 2021 and 2024, the epicenter of its data center power initiative was Oregon, where the company pursued a massive, self-operated ~75 MW fuel cell deployment to support its $15 billion cloud cluster. This plan’s failure in June 2024 marked the end of Oregon’s role as the proving ground for this strategy. During this same period, AWS’s hydrogen logistics efforts were more distributed across North America, with a key technology milestone in Aurora, Colorado, where it deployed its first on-site 1 MW electrolyzer with Plug Power. This established a blueprint for decentralized hydrogen production.

From 2025 onwards, the center of gravity for data center fuel cells has moved decisively to Ohio. The state’s regulatory environment and the partnership with AEP Ohio proved to be the winning combination, unlocking the first large-scale deployment (72.9 MW) and making the Midwest the new hub for AWS’s on-site power generation. This is not an isolated strategy; the planned 20 MW PPA in Silicon Valley, California, demonstrates that AWS is applying this model to other mature, power-constrained tech hubs. Looking forward, the announcement of a $5.3 billion data center investment in Saudi Arabia signals a new frontier where securing reliable, independent power will be paramount, potentially creating the next major international market for this fuel cell deployment model.

Technology Maturity: AWS Drives Fuel Cells from Logistics Mainstay to Data Center Prime Power

AWS’s activities reveal a clear progression in fuel cell technology maturity, moving from scaled application in one domain to commercial validation in another. In the 2021–2024 period, Proton-Exchange Membrane (PEM) fuel cells, supplied by Plug Power, were already a mature and scaling technology within Amazon’s logistics network, with over 17,000 units deployed in forklifts. The key innovation here was moving up the value chain to pilot on-site hydrogen production with a 1 MW electrolyzer, shifting from a fuel consumer to a fuel producer. In contrast, Solid Oxide Fuel Cells (SOFCs) for primary data center power were at the commercial-attempt stage. The 75 MW Oregon project with Bloom Energy was not a pilot but a full-scale commercial plan that failed at the regulatory gate, proving the technology was ready but the implementation model was flawed.

The 2025-today period marks the commercial validation of SOFCs for data center power. The successful approval and funding of the 72.9 MW AEP Ohio project elevates Bloom Energy’s SOFCs from a promising alternative to a bankable, utility-backed solution for hyperscale needs. This is no longer a pilot but a scaling commercial deployment. Concurrently, AWS is pushing other applications into earlier stages of the maturity curve. The April 2025 pilot of a hydrogen fuel cell truck moves the technology from warehouse floors to over-the-road logistics, a critical data-gathering phase. For data centers, the next frontier—powering them directly with green hydrogen—remains in the exploration phase, as highlighted by the March 2025 collaboration with Bloom Energy. This demonstrates a portfolio approach: scaling what works now (natural gas SOFCs) while piloting and exploring what is needed for a zero-carbon future (hydrogen).

Table: SWOT Analysis of AWS’s Fuel Cell Strategy (2021-2025)

Forward-Looking Insights and Summary

The most recent data from 2025 signals that AWS has found a winning formula for its near-term data center power crisis. The AEP Ohio project is not a one-off; it is a blueprint. Energy executives and investors should expect AWS to aggressively replicate this customer-funded, utility-operated model in other key data center markets, particularly those with strained grids and high demand. The key signal to watch in the coming year will be the anticipated expansion order for fuel cells from AEP Ohio and the successful implementation of the 20 MW PPA in Silicon Valley. These events will confirm the scalability and geographic transferability of the strategy.

While natural gas-powered SOFCs are the immediate solution, they are a bridge, not a destination. The real long-term game is green hydrogen. AWS’s extensive work with Plug Power in its logistics network serves as a low-risk testbed for building a hydrogen supply chain and operational expertise. The signal gaining traction is the convergence of these two strategies. Market actors should watch for the first announcement of a data center co-located with a large-scale electrolyzer, designed to power fuel cells with on-site green hydrogen. This will mark the next major inflection point, moving from a low-carbon solution to a true zero-carbon one. For now, AWS’s pragmatic, two-track approach of deploying natural gas fuel cells at scale while nurturing a nascent hydrogen ecosystem positions it to meet the voracious energy demands of the AI era, both today and tomorrow.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why is AWS turning to on-site fuel cells to power its data centers?
AWS is adopting on-site fuel cells to address two critical challenges: the exponential energy demands driven by the AI boom and the constraints of existing power grids, which often face long delays for upgrades. This strategy allows AWS to secure a reliable, scalable power supply directly at its data centers, bypassing grid bottlenecks.

What was the main difference between AWS’s failed Oregon project and its successful Ohio project?
The key difference was the operating model. In Oregon, AWS planned to directly operate the natural gas fuel cells itself, but the plan was canceled due to regulatory and environmental hurdles. In Ohio, AWS pivoted to a partnership model where it funds the 72.9 MW of fuel cells, but the local utility, AEP Ohio, operates them “behind-the-meter.” This new framework proved successful in gaining regulatory approval.

Are the fuel cells used by AWS powered by clean energy?
Not entirely for its current large-scale data center projects. The approved Ohio project uses solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) fed by natural gas, which is a fossil fuel. However, the article describes this as a “bridge” solution. AWS is simultaneously exploring green hydrogen-powered fuel cells and has extensive experience with hydrogen in its logistics fleet, signaling a long-term strategy to transition to a zero-carbon fuel source.

Who are AWS’s main technology partners in its fuel cell strategy?
AWS has two primary fuel cell partners for different applications. For its data center prime power, it is working with Bloom Energy, using their solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs). For its logistics fleet (e.g., forklifts) and green hydrogen production, it has a long-standing partnership with Plug Power.

What does the blog post suggest is the next major step in AWS’s fuel cell strategy?
The blog post suggests the next major step will be the convergence of AWS’s two parallel strategies: using fuel cells for data centers and developing a green hydrogen ecosystem. The forward-looking insight predicts that the next inflection point will be an announcement of a data center co-located with a large-scale electrolyzer, designed to power fuel cells with on-site green hydrogen, moving from a low-carbon to a true zero-carbon solution.