On-site fuel cell technology provides reliable, low-carbon energy for artificial intelligence (AI) workloads. Furthermore, this is driving unprecedented power usage. Oracle and Bloom Energy have formed a partnership to install on-site solid oxide fuel cells in Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (“OCI”) data centers. So, the goal is to address the dramatically increasing power demand. This is resulting directly from AI workloads while providing improved resilience and reducing carbon emissions.
Background on Partnership
Oracle Corporation is a worldwide leader in the world of enterprise software and cloud infrastructure. Eventually, known for its database technology and increased focus on its expanding AI-enabled Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI). As AI usage increases, the need for reliable, sustainable energy is paramount for Oracle. Especially given that OCI focuses on high-performance workloads.
Bloom Energy’s mission is to deliver on-site, cleaner, and more economical power for mission-critical infrastructure. Eventually, it is packaged as a solid oxide fuel cell. Bloom is aligned with the growing pursuit of resilient, low-carbon energy in AI data centres.
What Comes Next? So, their joint development demonstrates an evolution where energy innovation is just as important as compute innovation. OCI’s commitment to on-site fuel cells could result in increased adoption of like solutions from competing vendors. Further, as the demand for a power portfolio for data centres, Bloom stands to do well as AI workloads continue to grow.
Confronting AI’s Skyrocketing Energy Needs
The global charge to put generative AI and machine-learning models in the wild has fundamentally changed how data centers consume energy. AI workloads are compute-intensive and require ongoing high-density power and cooling. The International Energy Agency (IEA) expects data center electricity demand to more than double by 2030. It is reaching 945 TWh, equivalent to the entire annual production of Japan.
Deloitte’s 2025 report estimates that data centers will use about 536 TWh of electricity this year alone. This represents close to 2% of global electricity pledged to data centers. Accordingly, if the rate of AI growth remains constant, total data center electricity demand could double. Also, this can go up to approximately 1,065 TWh by 2030. In just two years, The Guardian reports that; power consumption for AI systems could consume nearly half of all data center power, not including crypto mining operations.
Such trends will impose pressure on the existing power infrastructure. Gartner in one of their press release warns that by 2027, 40% of AI data centers could be limited by power availability. AI data centers are estimated to need an extra 10 GW of power capacity. A Rand Corporation study indicates that in 2025. This is increasing to 68GW by 2027 — almost double the total global data center usage in 2022!
Why Fuel Cells, and Why Now?
Bloom Energy’s solid oxide fuel cell technology provides a scalable and dependable alternative to relying solely on the grid. The systems produce clean electricity on site, independently of grid fluctuations. They can provide reliable power for latency-sensitive AI workloads that are intolerant to outages or power quality issues.
As Aman Joshi, Chief Commercial Officer at Bloom Energy, advised:
“A growing cohort of data center leaders deploying on-site power as a primary federal source since they feel the urgency to address economic imperatives, while at the same time establishing reliable, scalable energy solutions.”
Positive aspects or developments of fuel cells align with Oracle’s sustainability strategy as well. In addition to providing continuous power with much lower emissions than traditional generators. Fuel cells can help enterprises meet environmental, social, and governance (ESG) commitments.
Acknowledgement from Experts
Industry observers view this collaboration not only as an infrastructure upgrade but more so, a preview of the future of AI-ready data centers. Vice President and Analyst at Gartner, Bob Johnson, said:
“The rapid growth in new hyperscale data centers for deploying Gen AI will create an insatiable demand for power that will outstrip the ability of utility suppliers to increase capacity quickly enough. This risk could hamper growth for many AI data centers after 2026.”
This perspective from a third party further clarifies why enterprises such as Oracle are exploring hybrid energy approaches to ensure reliable, renewable power sources.
Strategic value to Oracle Cloud
Oracle Cloud Infrastructure will increasingly be used for deploying AI and high-performance computing workloads, where downtime or energy inconsistency has operational and financial downstream consequences. With Bloom’s on-site power systems, Oracle now has:
Resiliency: A continuous power source despite grid strain or outages, which is especially critical for AI inference and training domains.
Scalability: The ability to rapidly scale power capacity without awaiting utility providers to increase capacity, speeding up AI service deployment timelines.
Sustainability: A lower carbon footprint vs. conventional diesel generators, which aligns with Oracle’s bigger ESG objectives.
In Bloom Energy’s 2025 Data Center Power Report, it was noted, “30 percent of sites are projected to use on-site power as their primary energy source by 2030 – double the number from just seven months ago.”
Wider Industry Impacts
The Oracle-Bloom Energy partnership represents a larger trend in the industry: data centers are moving from grid-dependent locations to hybrid power ecosystems that utilize on-site generation. Accelerating this transition is an industry-wide push towards increased compute density with AI, combined with the need for rapid deployment of low-carbon, reliable energy sources.
A Bloomberg analysis suggests there will be a 35 GW power shortfall for data centers by 2030. To fill that gap will require new solutions such as fuel cells, hydrogen-powered microgrids, and AI-optimized energy management software. As hyperscalers also face increased regulatory pressure to enhance emission reduction and achieve net-zero goals, fuel cell technologies provide an avenue forward.
Future Outlook
The relationship between Oracle and Bloom Energy opens the door to similar relationships across the tech industry. With an increasing dependency on AI that continues to change the shape of data center infrastructure, power reliability is more than an afterthought; it is also a strategic enabler.
Oracle is protecting its AI infrastructure with an investment in on-site fuel cells and also signaling a larger market trend towards distributed, clean energy systems that are capable of meeting the computational demands of the next decades. For CIOs, CTOs, and sustainability professionals, this partnership also offers a framework for balancing performance, resilience, and sustainability in the era of AI.
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