MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. --ECL, a pioneer in sustainable modular data center infrastructure, today announced the development of CSC-1, a new 35MW data center powered by ECL’s proprietary FlexGrid architecture located in Santa Clara, Calif. The site combines multiple power sources, including on-grid electricity, hydrogen power, and natural gas, addressing surging demand for behind-the-meter, high-density AI compute in Northern California. S&P Global projects that US data center electricity will more than double from 61.8 GW in 2025 to 134.4 GW by 2030, while Bloomberg reports that half of all data center projects in the US this year will be delayed or canceled due to power constraints.

CSC-1 will support rack densities ranging from 75 to 270kW at launch. ECL's FlexGrid architecture interoperates with local utility grids, combining all available power sources to deliver a sub-1.15 PUE with low emissions. Its phased approach allows tenants to begin AI training and inference workloads within months, with additional capacity that scales alongside their demand.

CSC-1 Capabilities

• 35MW total facility capacity, phased from an initial 2.5MW deployment
• Rack densities from 75 kW to 270 kW at launch
• FlexGrid microgrid combining electrical grid, natural gas and hydrogen fuel cells for always-on, grid-independent operation
• Sub-1.15 PUE with low emissions using direct-to-chip, air, and hydrogen by-product water-based cooling
• ECL Lightning real-time management platform providing micro-adjustment control over power generation, cooling, and rack-level operations

Why Santa Clara, Why Now?

Northern California remains one of the most constrained markets for new data center power, with grid interconnection delays now representing a competitive threat, not just an inconvenience, to AI providers. Behind-the-meter power generation has shifted from a workaround to a mainstream strategy, and ECL's Santa Clara deployment arrives at a moment when both the technical need and regulatory acceptance for self-generated power have matured enough to support it.

About ECL

Founded in 2020 and headquartered in Mountain View, California, ECL’s FlexGrid architecture enables rapid creation of data center infrastructure utilizing modular, energy-flexible design principles. The company introduced the world's first operational hydrogen-powered AI data center at its MV-1 site in 2024 and is scaling its FlexGrid architecture across U.S. and international markets. Backed by Molex Ventures and Hyperwise Ventures, ECL enables scalable, low-carbon compute for AI, high-performance, and edge workloads.

Source:  Fuel Cells Works