Phinergy scales up aluminium-air generator for data centres
Author: Joe Peck
Phinergy, a clean energy technology company, and the Net Zero Innovation Hub for Data Centers (NZIH), a pan-European industry consortium working to cut data centres’ carbon emissions, have tested a 72kW aluminium-air generator (AAG) module designed for long-duration backup power in data centres.
The module was unveiled on 9 October 2026 at a partner facility near Madison, Wisconsin, USA, as part of a collaborative testing programme involving the data centre industry. Technical experts from Microsoft, Danfoss, Schneider Electric, and Vertiv attended the testing and agreed on the next steps for validation and further development.
The project aims to assess the technology’s suitability for integration into large-scale data centre infrastructure, with the partners targeting eventual commercial deployment.
Testing advances towards megawatt-scale system
Phinergy’s AAG uses aluminium to generate electricity and is intended to provide backup power without the on-site emissions associated with conventional diesel generators.
The 72kW module has an energy capacity of 1.4MWh and represents a building block for a planned 500kW system with a capacity of 10MWh. The larger system is currently being assembled.
The partners say the technology could provide backup power whilst helping data centre operators manage grid constraints. It is also intended to support power availability by temporarily reducing reliance on the grid during periods of peak demand.
Phinergy and the NZIH announced their partnership in October 2025. Following a global request for information on low-carbon backup power technologies, the generator was selected from more than 70 submissions for megawatt-scale validation.
Emmanuel Levy, CEO of Phinergy, comments, “Reaching AAG Module stage is a defining achievement in the AAG’s commercialisation roadmap. The AAG Module design has now demonstrated, through a formal validation process endorsed by hyperscalers and leading data centre operators, that it meets the technical standards required for data centre operation, and we move forward with confidence towards full AAG system validation and deployment.”
Industry collaboration continues
The NZIH brings together data centre industry organisations to assess technologies intended to support the transition towards net zero. Its members include APL Data Centers, Danfoss, Data4, Engie, Google, Microsoft, Schneider Electric, and Vertiv.
Alberto Ravagni, CEO of the NZIH, says, “This is an important milestone of the validation and scale-up program the Hub is conducting with its members. It confirms aluminum-air as a promising clean backup power technology and demonstrates how the Hub’s collaborative approach accelerates the adoption of innovative solutions across the data center industry.”
The partners state they will continue evaluating the technology against the requirements of cloud and AI data centres as development progresses towards validation of the full-scale system.
