ProEnergy repurposes jet engines to power data centers

US energy solutions provider ProEnergy is repurposing jet engines to power data centers.

As first reported by IEEE Spectrum, the company revealed that two data center operators are using its repurposed gas turbines to power facilities during construction and in the first few years of operation.

The PE6000 gas turbines are made through retrofitting old CF6-80C2 jet engine cores and matching them with newly manufactured aero-derivative parts made by ProEnergy or its partners.

To make jet engines suitable for use as power generators, they are modified with an expanded turbine section to convert engine thrust into shaft power, a series of struts and supports to mount them on a concrete deck or steel frame, and new controls. Following assembly, the engines can supply 48MW of capacity.

“We have sold 21 gas turbines for two data center projects amounting to more than 1GW,” said Landon Tessmer, VP of commercial operations at ProEnergy. “Both projects are expected to provide bridging power for five to seven years, which is when they expect to have grid interconnection and no longer need permanent behind-the-meter generation.”

Following its use as a prime power option, the turbines are then utilized for backup power, sold to the local utility, or used to supplement the grid. This means the units can continue to be used after the data center secures a grid connection.

ProEnergy offers two-turbine power blocks built around a standard setup. Each block includes gas turbines, generators, and a range of supporting systems such as air cooling units that enhance turbine performance on hot days, selective catalytic reduction systems to cut down emissions, and various electrical components.

In order to keep engineering and maintenance costs low, ProEnergy focuses solely on the CF6-80C2 engine, produced by General Electric. The engine powers several commercial and military aircraft, including the Boeing 747-400, 767, and MD-11, as well as the Airbus A300 and A310.

The decision to repurpose jet engines as mobile generators for data centers was driven by the constrained nature of the gas turbine market, said Tessmer, with wait times beginning to approach those for grid-based power. Currently, only three companies – GE Vernova, Siemens, and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries – produce the vast majority of the world’s turbines. However, due to the huge demand from the AI data center sector, delivery backlogs are beginning to stretch beyond 2029.

Comparatively, Tessmer claims that “a PE6000 from ProEnergy can be delivered in 2027.” Tessmer claims that approximately 1,000 of these aircraft engines are expected to be retired over the next decade, creating a clear market opportunity to repurpose and reuse them.

ProEnergy is based out of Sedalia, Missouri. The company delivers a range of third-party services to energy and manufacturing companies, covering construction, management, operations, maintenance, and repair of power generation facilities.

Off-grid natural gas is growing in popularity across the data center sector. For example, in July, AI data center developer Crusoe ordered up to 1GW of GE Vernova natural gas turbines to power its data centers.

Following this, just last month, Siemens signed a non-binding Letter of Intent to supply Fermi America with up to 1.1GW of natural gas generating capacity for its 11GW data center mega campus in Amarillo, Texas.