Why jet engines could power the AI ​​data center boom?

Data center developers are facing a serious power constraint as they try to build larger facilities to capitalize on the potential of generative AI. Typically, they will power these centers by connecting to the grid or building onsite power plants. However, they face major delays in securing gas turbines or getting energy from the grid.

At the Data Center World Power Show in San Antonio in October, natural-gas power providers ProEnergy An alternative option was identified – repurposed aviation engines. according to Landon Tessmervice president of Commercial operations at ProEnergy, some data centers are using their company pe6000 Gas turbines to provide the power needed during the construction of the data center and its first few years of operation. When grid power is available, these machines either fall back into a backup role, supplementing the grid, or are sold to the local utility.

“We sold 21 gas turbines totaling more than 1 gigawatt (GW) for two data-center projects,” says Tessmer. “Both projects are expected to provide bridging power for five to seven years, when they are expected to have grid interconnection and no longer require permanent generation behind the meter.”

Bridging the electricity gap with a new type of aeroderivative turbine

This is a common and long-established practice for gas-turbine original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) such as GE Vernova And siemens energy Converting a successful aircraft engine to stationary electric-power generation applications. These machines, known as aeroderivative gas turbines, have carved a niche for themselves by being lighter, smaller and more easily maintained than conventional heavy-frame gas turbines.

“There’s a lot that goes into industrializing an aviation engine and getting it to generate electricity,” says Mark Axford, president of Axford Turbine Consultants, a gas-turbine consultant and expert in evaluating used turbines.

For example, GE Vernova’s LM6000 gas turbine It was derived from GE’s successful CF6-80C2 turbofan engine that was widely used on commercial jets. The CF6-80C2 was first released in 1985, and the LM6000 came to market five years later. To make it suitable for power generation, an extended turbine section was required to convert the engine’s thrust into shaft power, a series of struts and supports to mount it on a concrete deck or steel frame, and new controls. Further modifications typically include the development of a fuel nozzle that allows the machine to run on natural gas instead of aviation fuel, and a combustor that reduces emissions of nitrogen oxides, a major pollutant.

“There aren’t enough gas turbines to go around and the problem is probably going to get worse,” says paul browning, CEO of Generative Power SolutionsFormerly head of GE Power & Water (now GE Vernova) and mitsubishi powerContact GE Vernova to order the LM6000 today (or a Siemens Energy SGT-A35 Aeroderivative Gas Turbine) and you may be told that the waiting list is three to five years. Some larger, popular models have even longer waiting lists.

In contrast, “a PE6000 from ProEnergy could be delivered in 2027,” says Tessmer.

Landon Tessmer, vice president of ProEnergy, spoke at the Data Center World Power conference in October, 2025.Data Center World Power

Converted turbofan aircraft engine could provide 48 MW

Purchase and overhaul is used by ProEnergy CF6-80C2 The engine core – the central part of the engine where combustion occurs – and matches them to newly manufactured aero-derived parts made by ProEnergy or its partners. After assembly and testing, these refurbished engines are ready for a second life in electric-power generation, where they provide 48 megawatts (MW), enough to power a small to medium data center (or perhaps a city). 20,000 to 40,000 household). According to Tessmer, about 1,000 of these aircraft engines are expected to be retired over the next decade, so there is no shortage of them. There may be demand for a larger data center is more than 100 MWAnd some of the latest data centers being designed for AI are over 1 GW.

Overhaul returns an engine and its components to like-new condition. Each of its thousands of parts is disassembled, cleaned, inspected, and then repaired or replaced as needed. In this way, the engine is renewed for another long cycle of runtime. Apart from the engine core, every part inside the PE6000 turbine is manufactured to ProEnergy specifications. ,We can overhaul the high-pressure core of any CF6-80C2 and fabricate all the low-pressure components,” says Tessmer.

ProEnergy sells two-turbine blocks with standard configuration. This includes the gas turbine, generator and a variety of other gear, such as systems to cool the air entering the turbine during hot days to boost performance, selective catalytic reduction systems to reduce emissions, and various electrical systems. The company focused solely on one engine, the CF6-80C2, to streamline and simplify engineering and maintenance.

The PE6000 was originally intended for use by utilities that needed more capacity during peak hours. The data-center boom has turned that expectation upside down – data-center operators want these engines to power the entire facility. They run on natural gas and can be up and running in five minutes when turned on. If one requires maintenance, it can be replaced with a spare within 72 hours. Emissions levels for nitrogen oxides averaged 2.5 parts per million, well below EPA-regulated levels (Typically below 10 to less than 25 parts per million depending on the use case). Since 2020, ProEnergy has built 75 PE6000 packages and now another 52 are being assembled or are on order.

Longer grid-connection delays mean more business

Several factors contribute to this popularity. In addition to the growth in data centers, there are often long wait times for transmission lines, which may face local opposition and require permits from multiple municipalities or states. “Eroderivative gas turbines are gaining popularity as a bridging technology that runs behind the meter until the utility grid is able to supply power,” says Tessmer.

Tessmer alone has seen examples of delays of eight to ten years in granting permission. If connecting to the grid takes years, at least in some areas, and if gas turbine manufacturers do not dramatically increase production, bridging power could become an essential enabler of AI infrastructure construction.