EQT Group has announced the acquisition of Copia Power, a U.S.-based energy and AI infrastructure development platform, from private investment firm The Carlyle Group. The acquisition underscores the critical role of dependable energy infrastructure as a key enabler for the ongoing trend of AI and data center growth in the U.S. market. The agreement also underscores the growing trend of global infrastructure investors towards energy, storage and digital infrastructure projects.

The purchase is part of EQT's long-term strategy to invest in infrastructure for a digital economy and the global energy transition. The growth of AI technologies is also rapidly increasing, and data centers are using much more electricity than they do today, putting additional strain on power systems. Through the acquisition of Copia Power, EQT seeks to enhance its infrastructure footprint, which includes energy and digital infrastructure integration and energy security and grid reliability.

Copia Power’s Development Journey

Copia Power was founded in 2021 after acquiring a 6-GW U.S. solar and energy storage development pipeline from energy developer and operator Tenaska. Since its inception, Copia has been developing, constructing and operating major energy infrastructure projects in the United States.

In recent years, the site has been growing its offerings considerably. Copia already has about 2.6 gigawatts of energy generation and storage in operation or under construction, according to the companies. In addition, the platform has over 20 gigawatts of thermal and renewable power generation opportunities, and 9 gigawatts of data center development opportunities at various locations, that have been added – beyond these completed and ongoing projects.

It has a wide range of infrastructure projects in its portfolio, including solar energy, battery energy storage systems, thermal generation, high-voltage transmission, and data center development.

Focus on Grid-Connected Campuses

One of the unique aspects of Copia Power's success has been the development of the “grid-connected campus” model. This strategy is an integration of large-scale electricity generation with high capacity data centers in strategically placed high-voltage transmission sites.

The idea aims to solve one of the biggest problems in the AI and cloud computing sectors: a lack of adequate and stable electrical power. Copia is working towards installing renewable energy generation, battery storage systems and dispatchable energy resources on a single campus, helping to supply power to digital infrastructure and decreasing grid capacity restrictions.

The integrated model enables both energy generation and digital infrastructure to grow symbiotically, to support the increasing electricity demand of modern data centers, while maximizing energy efficiency.

Carlyle Highlights Original Investment Thesis

Pooja Goyal, Carlyle's Chief Investment Officer, Infrastructure Group, commented that the original investment thesis was that availability of electricity would be one of the most critical issues of both electrification and digital economy.

Goyal says that he backed Carlyle on the assumption that the increasing demand for electricity will demand new infrastructure solutions to support both industrial electrification and digital technologies. From a development concept, it has grown into a comprehensive infrastructure platform of over 30 gigawatts of combined opportunities in electricity generation, energy storage and digital infrastructure projects, she said.

Hungry AI is fueling energy consumption.AI's appetite for energy.

“With artificial intelligence transforming infrastructure investment priorities, EQT is executing this transaction when it is necessary to uncover the value and potential of AI in executing the investment process,” said EQT. As the demand for more sophisticated AI applications rises, hyperscale data centers are consuming more electricity.

Energy availability has been singled out as one of the major factors that could hinder future growth of data centers, by industry analysts. As demand for AI computing power is growing, many areas are experiencing delays in bringing new facilities online because of not enough electricity generation and inadequate transmission capacity.

For EQT, Copia's approach of building both energy infrastructure and digital assets at the same time provides a way to address these challenges and will allow for both industries to scale in tandem.

EQT Sees Long-Term Growth Opportunity

“AI is transforming infrastructure demand patterns in a way that is happening very quickly and is fundamentally changing the way things are done," said Alex Darden, Partner and Head of EQT Infrastructure Americas. He said there's a growing need for reliable energy to support the development of digital infrastructure, and Copia is proving to be valuable in this regard.

Darden said this choice of business model puts Copia in a unique position between energy infrastructure and generating AI-driven digital development. He said the platform is perfectly suited to continued growth, as demand for electricity and data center capacity keeps rising.

Acquisition Through EQT Infrastructure VII

The sale will take place via EQT Infrastructure VII, a recently introduced infrastructure investment fund. Recently, EQT launched a target size of €21 bn for the fund, demonstrating its ongoing focus on large-scale infrastructure investments across the world.

The acquisition of Copia Power bolsters EQT's presence in the energy and digital infrastructure industry, which will be vital to the economy, electrification and continued rollout of artificial intelligence technology. Governments and businesses are spending money on modernizing power systems and the expansion of digital capacity, and integrated infrastructure platforms like Copia will play an increasing role in providing energy and computing needs in the future.