A new partnership between Tersis Technologies and Flux Core aims to tackle one of artificial intelligence's most pressing constraints: the sheer amount of electricity data centers need. The two companies announced a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on September 1, 2026, to combine Tersis' waste-to-energy platform with Flux Core's decentralized data center infrastructure, creating AI compute capacity that generates its own power on-site rather than relying on the traditional electrical grid.

Why Is Power Becoming AI's Biggest Bottleneck?

Global electricity consumption from data centers is projected to roughly double to approximately 945 terawatt-hours (TWh) by 2030, with artificial intelligence as the primary driver. The problem is that traditional grid-connected data center projects face severe delays. Interconnection queues and transmission constraints mean companies can wait several years just to connect to the power grid, even after securing land and permits. Meanwhile, demand for AI computing capacity is accelerating faster than the electrical infrastructure can support it.

At the G20 Innovation Ministerial in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, on September 1, 2026, tech leaders underscored the urgency. Elon Musk warned that "there will be a significant power shortfall next year, so not in the distant future". The challenge isn't just about having enough electricity; it's about having it available where and when companies need it to build AI infrastructure.

Chapel Hill, North Carolina, on September 1, 2026, tech leaders

How Does the Tersis-Flux Core Partnership Work?

Under the MOU, the two companies plan to evaluate opportunities to combine power produced by Tersis' SynGenic V3 resource-recovery platform with Flux Core's pre-configured, decentralized data centers. Rather than concentrating computing capacity in a small number of large campuses dependent on long-lead transmission upgrades, the decentralized model distributes high-density compute across multiple sites, each sized to the power available on-site.

Tersis' SynGenic V3 platform is designed to convert suitable waste feedstocks into clean energy and recovered products. The partnership contemplates configurations in which on-site resource recovery supplies a meaningful portion of a site's electrical and thermal load, potentially improving both the carbon profile and cost predictability of the resulting AI compute.

"This relationship creates a practical pathway for matching distributed power production with the growing demand for flexible, high-performance computing infrastructure," said Antonio Uccello, Chief Executive Officer of Tersis Technologies. "By pairing SynGenic V3 with decentralized data-center deployments, we intend to evaluate projects that can convert suitable waste feedstocks into useful on-site energy while supporting resilient, sustainable AI compute closer to where it is needed."

Antonio Uccello, Chief Executive Officer, Tersis Technologies

Flux Core's decentralized data centers are designed to arrive pre-configured, reduce construction risk, scale incrementally in step with customer demand, support off-grid and renewable integration, and enable relocation when required. The company pairs high-density GPU (graphics processing unit) compute with liquid cooling, on-site generation, and storage so that capacity can be sited where power and demand exist rather than where transmission allows.

What Markets Could Benefit From This Approach?

The companies intend to begin joint screening of candidate sites and prioritize opportunities where feedstock availability, power requirements, permitting conditions, and customer demand align. Potential markets include municipal, industrial, institutional, defense, rural, and edge-computing applications, as well as enterprise and AI-model customers seeking capacity outside constrained metropolitan data-center corridors.

• Rural and Edge Computing: Communities outside major metropolitan areas that lack access to large-scale grid infrastructure but have available land and waste feedstocks.
• Industrial and Institutional Partners: Factories, universities, and government facilities that could benefit from on-site power generation paired with AI compute capacity.
• Enterprise AI Customers: Companies seeking flexible, resilient computing infrastructure independent of constrained urban data-center markets.
• Defense Applications: Government and military operations requiring secure, distributed computing infrastructure with independent power supply.

What Are the Broader Implications for AI Infrastructure?

The partnership reflects a fundamental shift in how the industry thinks about solving the power problem. Rather than waiting for grid upgrades, companies are exploring ways to generate power on-site and deploy computing infrastructure in parallel. This approach could significantly accelerate the timeline for bringing new AI capacity online.

"The industry does not have a compute problem so much as a power and timeline problem. Together, we can evaluate opportunities to shorten deployment schedules, add sustainable AI compute in increments the grid can absorb, and create integrated solutions for customers seeking greater flexibility and energy resilience," said Reginald York, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Flux Core.

Reginald York, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Flux Core

At the G20 Innovation Ministerial, entrepreneur and investor David Sacks emphasized that the solution lies in having data center providers "build, bring or buy all their own power." He noted that "if you make AI companies compete for power or electricity with local residents and just plug it into the grid, that could cause electricity prices to go up". Decentralized, self-powered data centers sidestep this competition entirely.

What Challenges Remain?

The MOU establishes a cooperation framework but does not obligate either company to proceed with any specific deployment, capital contribution, offtake arrangement, or commercial transaction. Each joint opportunity will remain subject to technical and commercial diligence, permitting, final engineering, financing, and the negotiation and execution of a separate definitive project agreement.

Beyond technical hurdles, rural communities are increasingly concerned about the environmental and social impacts of rapid data center expansion. A recent analysis found that seven in 10 Americans oppose constructing AI data centers in their local areas, including 48 percent who strongly opposed it, according to a Gallup survey from March 2026. The shift of data center construction to rural areas, where the overwhelming majority of new projects are planned, means these communities will bear the brunt of infrastructure demands, including land use, water consumption, and energy grid strain.

The Tersis-Flux Core partnership represents one approach to addressing these concerns by integrating power generation, cooling, and compute as a unified system rather than retrofitting solutions after the fact. Whether this model can scale fast enough to meet the projected doubling of data center electricity consumption by 2030 remains to be seen.