AI is running out of power. Here’s the fix | Interchange Recharged

Описание: The AI revolution is creating unprecedented power demand, with US data centers announcing an average of 435 megawatts per month. But power infrastructure can't keep up - natural gas turbines have five to six-year lead times, and grid interconnection queues are backed up even longer. Enter fuel cells as a fast-deploying alternative that's capturing billions in commitments from major utilities and hyperscalers.

In this episode of Interchange Recharged, host Bridget Van Dorsten sits down with Akhil Betheja, Director of Technology Strategy at Bloom Energy, to explore how solid oxide fuel cell technology is emerging as a solution to the data center power crisis.

They discuss:
How Bloom Energy's stock surged 360% with major deals from Brookfield (US$5B), Oracle and AEP (US$2.6B)
Why data centers prioritize speed-to-power above all else, followed by reliability and economics
How fuel cells differ from batteries and gas turbines and their competitive advantages
Fuel flexibility: running on natural gas, hydrogen, biogas, or blends to future-proof investments
The modular "Lego block" approach: scaling from 65kW modules to gigawatt-scale deployments
Load following AI workloads: using supercapacitors to handle millisecond power spikes
DC power architecture: how fuel cells' native DC output could revolutionize data center efficiency
Pathways to decarbonisation through carbon capture and alternative fuels

Timestamps:
00:00 - Introduction: The AI power infrastructure challenge
01:37 - Meet Akhil: 9 years at Bloom Energy and the fuel cell technology
03:29 - The 2025 shift: 360% stock surge and billion-dollar deals
05:11 - Fuel cells explained: electrochemistry vs combustion
06:17 - Primary vs backup power and fuel cell advantages
07:18 - Fuel flexibility: natural gas, hydrogen, biogas and blends
08:32 - Efficiency comparison: fuel cells vs gas turbines
09:50 - What data centers need: speed, reliability, economics
12:32 - Bloom's role: primary power, bridging, or fully islanded solutions
15:17 - The paradigm shift: from 1% to 33% considering 100% onsite power
17:10 - Competing with gas turbines: permitting, reliability and modularity
20:15 - Technology challenges: power density and perception
22:20 - Modularity and scalability: the Lego block analogy
24:04 - Manufacturing capacity: scaling from 1GW to 2GW per year
26:09 - Load following AI workloads with supercapacitor technology
32:15 - DC power advantage: the future of data center architecture
37:13 - Decarbonisation pathways: carbon capture and alternative fuels
41:48 - Closing thoughts and future outlook

Guest: Akhil Betheja, Director of Technology Strategy at Bloom Energy

Host: Bridget Van Dorsten, Hydrogen Research Analyst at Wood Mackenzie and Interim Host of Interchange Recharged

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