Google, Nvidia and Anthropic want Emerald AI to find space on the grid for more data centers

Grid software unicorn Emerald AI has formed a coalition with Google and Nvidia that will use the startup’s technology to secure space on the grid for more data centers.

The AI Energy Management Alliance (AEMA) hopes to make demand response — a paradigm in which data centers temporarily reduce their electricity use — an integral part of data center development. Pausing noncritical tasks and shifting some compute loads, AEMA says, could allow an additional 100 gigawatts of data centers to connect to the grid.

The founding trio is joined by Anthropic, and a range of utilities including AES, Constellation, National Grid, and NRG Energy.

Demand response is an old concept that has been used by utilities for decades. It works because the grid is designed with peak loads in mind. For much of the year, demand is well below the maximum the grid can support.

Traditionally, demand response covered large electricity users like factories, which in times of high demand would agree to reduce their usage, typically by pausing production or switching to backup generators. In exchange, the utility would pay them for the service, often handsomely.

Today, data centers can also take advantage of those programs, usually by turning on backup generators.