BESS and Data Centers: Powering AI with Smart Energy Systems

Data centers are entering the AI revolution.

As AI workloads explode and advanced chips consume more power per rack than ever, electricity demand is rising at an unprecedented pace. Data centers have become central to the global digital economy, powering cloud services, AI applications, and mission-critical infrastructures.

This rapid growth, however, has created an enormous challenge: energy consumption is skyrocketing, heat generation is intense, and the pressure on power grids is reaching unprecedented levels.

Energy Consumption by Data Centers Is Rising Exponentially

According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), in 2024, data centers consumed about 415 TWh, 1.5% of global demand. Over the last five years, consumption has grown at a 12% annual rate, fueled by the exponential rise of AI and cloud computing, and is expected to reach 945 TWh by 2030.

In the US alone, data center electricity consumption is projected to reach 325–580 TWh, depending on AI and high-performance computing adoption rates.

This surge has consequences beyond energy bills: the heat generated by high-density AI accelerators requires significant energy to cool, and grids are straining under the compounded energy requirements.

Rising demand not only inflates costs but also destabilizes networks, limits integration with renewable energy sources, consumes large amounts of water, and increases reliance on fossil-fuel backup systems.

BESS: Essential, but Dependent on the Right Thermal Architecture

Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) have emerged as a natural response to these challenges. They enable on-site energy storage, grid balancing, and integration with renewable energy sources, while reducing dependence on fossil-fuel-based generators.

For data centers, BESS offers three strategic advantages:

• • • Energy resilience: Reliable backup, reducing diesel-generator usage.
    • Grid support: Peak shaving and demand response to stabilize local networks.
    • Sustainability: Direct contribution to Net-Zero and ESG goals.

Yet, most BESS solutions today rely on lithium-ion batteries, which weren’t designed for the continuous, high-density loads typical of modern data centers. They overheat, degrade quickly, and require extensive cooling and space—resulting in higher costs, safety risks, and shorter lifecycles.
In other words, the challenge is not in storage capacity itself, but in managing the intense heat these systems generate. Without advanced thermal management, BESS cannot scale safely or efficiently.

In short, BESS is essential, but it depends on the right thermal architecture to unlock its full potential.

 The Missing Ingredient: Advanced Thermal Architecture

Unlocking the full potential of BESS requires a technological leap, not just incremental upgrades. Every watt stored or released generates heat, and at the scale of modern data centers, heat becomes both an operational and safety constraint. That’s where next-generation thermal architecture comes in.

Two-phase immersion cooling directly removes heat at the battery cell level. The process uses a controlled boiling, waterless liquid that absorbs heat uniformly, maintaining consistent temperatures and drastically reducing the risk of thermal runaway. This enables higher energy density, longer battery life, and safer operation under the demanding conditions of AI workloads.

The benefits are clear:

• • • CapEx efficiency: fewer cells can deliver the same power output, reducing hardware, space, and installation costs.
    • Extended battery lifetime: an optimal battery temperature slows degradation, improves energy throughput, and lowers the Levelized Cost of Storage (LCOS).
    • Enhanced safety: advanced thermal architecture reduces the risk of thermal runaway, a crucial concern for mission-critical data centers.

Redefining the Future of Data Center Energy

The next generation of data centers demands more than smarter computing – it requires smarter energy systems.

BESS is essential to achieving stability, resilience, and sustainability, but only with the right architecture can it scale safely and economically. Advanced thermal architectures provide the reliability, power density, and safety required to support modern AI workloads.

As electricity demand continues to surge and AI drives unprecedented growth in data processing, pairing energy storage with next-generation thermal architectures is no longer optional – it is necessary.

We are talking not only about hybrid energy sources but also about hybrid thinking: combining energy, cooling, and system design into a single integrated approach.

BESS alone is not enough. To power the AI era responsibly, data centers must integrate energy storage and advanced thermal design into a single intelligent system – where efficiency, safety, and sustainability work in harmony.