Exxon Mobil (XOM) and Chevron (CVX) have set their sights on the tremendous opportunity presented by the growing demand for energy to power artificial intelligence data centers. Exxon is in the process of building a natural gas plant that will power a data center. In a bid to ensure the data center aligns with the sustainability efforts being advocated, the oil major plans to use carbon capture and storage technology to reduce emissions from the data center by up to 90%.
Natural Gas Data Centers
In order to move CO2 from several industrial clients to permanent storage facilities, Exxon has made significant investments in constructing a carbon capture network along the Gulf Coast that includes more than 900 miles of pipeline. According to the oil major, by 2050, decarbonizing AI data centers may account for as much as 20% of its entire addressable market for carbon capture and storage.
The proposed natural gas plant will not rely on any electric grid. Instead, it will be independent of current utilities, allowing faster installation than traditional power generation projects. The company has already initiated strategic partnerships with large-cap industries to deploy the solution while ensuring high reliability and low carbon.
Chevron is also working on ways to power data centers amid the artificial intelligence race. As one of the major natural gas producers with power generation equipment and large tracts of land, it remains well-positioned to come up with data centres that are independent of the current grid.
AI Power Requirements
The growing investments in natural gas-powered data centers are due to Alphabet (GOOGL), Amazon (AMZN) and Microsoft (MSFT) increasing investment in wind and solar power. The push is part of an effort to develop data centres that don’t rely on the national grid while mitigating the impact of rapidly growing business on the climate.
Artificial intelligence’s power requirements are becoming so great that tech companies are looking for more dependable electricity sources than renewables. As a result, the tech companies have expressed increasing interest in nuclear power.
By buying electricity from the Three Mile Island nuclear plant, Microsoft is contributing to the reactor’s reactivation. Alphabet’s Google division and Amazon are investing in small, next-generation nuclear reactors. Recently, Meta requested proposals from businesses to construct new nuclear power plants.
Nevertheless, interest in natural gas to power data centers comes amid growing concerns that developing nuclear plants is costly and takes too long to build. ExxonMobil’s CEO has already reiterated that the company is well-positioned to power artificial intelligence needs with natural gas immediately and soon.
Amazon AI Chip
Meanwhile, seven Taiwan-based businesses stand to gain significantly from the widespread use of AWS’ new artificial intelligence chip. The companies include circuit board manufacturer Gold Circuit Electronics, the networking equipment manufacturer Accton, and the computer assembly companies Wiwynn and Hon Hai.
The Trainium 2 AI chip launch by Amazon Web Services is part of an effort to diversify from the leading AI chip supplier, Nvidia (NVDA). Over the last two years, Nvidia has made enormous profits due to the strong demand for AI chips, which has elevated the company to the most valuable position globally.
