Emerald AI, Nvidia and Google have formed a coalition to secure space on the power grid for new data centres. The group, which includes Anthropic and utilities such as AES, Constellation, National Grid and NRG Energy, aims to make demand response a standard part of data centre development. This approach involves temporarily reducing electricity use by pausing noncritical tasks or shifting compute loads. AEMA states this could allow an additional 100 gigawatts of data centres to connect to the grid.
The mechanics
Demand response is an old concept that has been used by utilities for decades. It works because the grid is designed with peak loads in mind. For much of the year, demand is well below the maximum the grid can support.
Traditionally, demand response covered large electricity users like factories. In times of high demand, these users would agree to reduce their usage, typically by pausing production or switching to backup generators. In exchange, the utility would pay them for the service, often handsomely.
Today, data centres can also take advantage of those programs, usually by turning on backup generators. Emerald AI has been proposing an alternative to dirty diesel generators. The company’s software coordinates requests from utilities with data centres, which can pause noncritical tasks or shift loads to other data centres where the grid has some headroom.
The startup isn’t the only one working on such technology. Google has been developing its own tools, and Enel X lets data centres tap their uninterruptible power supplies to round off peaks in power demand. Limiting max grid usage to 90% for a few hours at a time could let data centres free up 76 gigawatts of capacity, according to a study by Goldman Sachs published last year.
Emerald AI does have an advantage, though. Its software connects utilities directly to data centres, which should allow data centres to respond quickly to requests, much like batteries. The startup also recently raised $150 million in a Series A led by Energize Capital and DCVC, giving it the sort of funding needed to roll out the technology on a wider scale.
Practical implications
Given the peaky nature of AI compute loads, and data centres’ ability to quickly ramp up and down, the creation of something like AEMA is overdue. The coalition also promises to help tech companies and utilities find new sites for data centres, an effort that hasn’t been easy for either party.
Despite its promise, more sophisticated demand response won’t solve all of the grid’s problems today. Ayse Coskun, Emerald AI’s chief scientist, told TechCrunch that her company’s technology promises to blunt the industry’s need for new generating sources, but it won’t eliminate it entirely.
