The U.S. electric grid faces unprecedented challenges as data center power demand surges across the country. With AI workloads, cloud expansion, and digital transformation driving multi-gigawatt interconnection queues, utilities and grid operators are scrambling to meet demand. Traditional solutions like peaker plants and transmission upgrades face years-long development timelines and often conflict with decarbonization goals.
VerrusTM , founded on the vision of transforming data centers from passive power consumers into active grid assets, is now demonstrating this capability at commercial scale. Our approach, pioneered through our parent company Sidewalk Infrastructure Partners' research and commercialization efforts.is now receiving strong validation from the broader energy industry.
Commercial-Ready Technology Validated in Partnership with NREL
Verrus showcased its utility-scale data center technology on a newly developed test platform this week at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) Partner Forum in Golden, Colorado. This demonstration, powered by the NREL ARIES Virtual Emulation Environment, represents the culmination of years of engineering and development, bringing our technology to the commercial market.
The collaboration between Verrus and NREL accelerates the market readiness of our technology that transforms data centers into flexible grid resources. By leveraging NREL's simulation infrastructure, we've validated the performance of Verrus data centers under real-world grid conditions, removing key technical and regulatory barriers to widespread adoption.
“Verrus’ technology has the potential to impact how data centers – when intentionally designed for flexibility – can provide meaningful value to grid operators,” said Ty Ferretti, Partnership Development Lead at NREL. “These capabilities can improve system resilience while also creating new models for capacity delivery amid the rise of AI workloads and variable renewable generation.”
Proven Performance & Demonstrated Capabilities
Verrus data centers are engineered unlike any others in the market, incorporating our novel power flow management system, long duration battery storage, and intelligent grid integration to optimize energy utilization throughout the campus. Using the 70 megawatt test platform, we demonstrated advanced, build-ready capabilities including:
- Demand response with up to 100% load curtailment within one minute of utility signal
- Uninterrupted transition to battery-powered islanded operation during simulated utility outages
- Automated handoff to long-duration backup power without disruption to IT workloads
With these capabilities, Verrus enables grid operators to better manage today’s unprecedented demand for power through fast, dispatchable peak shaving, enhanced reliability against large load swings, and the ability to integrate more renewable energy.
"MISO supports exactly this type of research aimed at developing platforms essential for ensuring reliable grid operations in the future," said Ted Vatnsdal, Executive Director for Strategy & Risk Management at Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO). "This is increasingly important as the grid faces major new demands from AI-driven data centers, the need for greater demand flexibility, and the growing role of storage solutions."
From Market Vision to Commercial Reality
Verrus is delivering grid-flexible data centers today, not just envisioning them for tomorrow. Underscoring our founding thesis, a recent study from Duke University's Nicholas Institute1 estimated that minimal data center load curtailment can unlock approximately 100 gigawatts of capacity nationally. Verrus has engineered commercial systems available today to realize this potential at scale.
Our power flow management platform with an integrated Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) delivers superior performance compared to conventional solutions: faster grid response, better resilience, and zero emissions – all while maintaining the stringent uptime requirements our customers demand.
Commercial Deployment Underway
Verrus is now focused on scaling deployments with major utility, hyperscale, and cloud partners. Our technology platform has progressed beyond the proof-of-concept stage to commercial readiness, with planned developments delivering near-term capacity to the market.
The next generation of data center infrastructure is ready today - flexible, resilient, and deeply integrated with the power grid. By unlocking gigawatts of otherwise untapped energy supplies, Verrus is enabling new data center capacity to be delivered faster and more sustainably than traditional approaches.
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VerrusTM and grid aware, carbon aware, compute awareTM are trademarks of Verrus, LLC in the United States and/or other countries. All other trademarks mentioned in this document are the property of their respective trademark owners.
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¹ Norris, T. et al., "Rethinking Load Growth: Assessing the Potential for Integration of Large Flexible Loads in U.S.Power Systems", Duke University Nicholas Institute for Energy, Environment Sustainability, 2025.
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