The infrastructure behind the next AI expansion
Subject: Grid & Silicon: Nuclear uprates, chip packaging and the next AI rack
Preview: Four developments to understand this week—and the gap between announced capacity and systems delivering useful work.
This week’s AI infrastructure story spans the grid, the chip package and the power rack. Long-term agreements are setting up future capacity, while new hardware designs are still being tested. Here are four developments worth understanding, with the delivery conditions kept in view.
More nuclear output from existing plants
Google and Constellation announced a 20-year agreement intended to support 890 MW of additional nuclear capacity through upgrades at 11 existing units. The first uprate is expected in 2028. This is a plan to increase output at operating plants, not a newly completed reactor. A separate 15-year arrangement covers 2,700 MW from existing generation; that figure should not be counted as new capacity. The distinction matters when judging how much extra supply the deal could bring to PJM.
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A U.S. supply line for an overlooked AI-chip component
GlobalFoundries announced a $2 billion manufacturing agreement with TSMC, initially lasting five years, to supply silicon interposers for the CoWoS packaging ecosystem from Malta, New York. These are elements of advanced packaging, rather than complete AI processors. Volume production is expected to begin ramping in the first half of 2028. The agreement identifies a future supply source, but leaves output volumes and customer qualification details undisclosed.
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A battery concept moves closer to the rack
QuantumScape introduced QS PowerBlock, an adaptable battery reference design aimed at future 1 MW AI racks and 800-volt DC systems. The company presents local energy storage as a way to help smooth fluctuating rack demand. Its performance comparisons come from prototype tests and modeled configurations under controlled conditions. Commercial availability, customer deployments and operating results remain the milestones to watch; protection of a working data center remains unconfirmed.
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Bitdeer reserves future Malaysian AI capacity
Bitdeer AI signed a ten-year services agreement for A901, a Malaysian campus intended to support 67 MW of critical IT load and liquid-cooled Nvidia GB300 NVL72 systems. Initial delivery is targeted for early 2027, with the full amount in the second quarter. Bitdeer said no customer offtake commitments had been signed for A901 when it announced the deal. The agreement secures a future infrastructure pathway; customer sales and physical delivery remain separate tests.
Read the full briefing → · Primary source
Go deeper
Why a data center can’t just plug into the grid
A generation agreement is only part of the delivery problem. Follow the transmission lines, substations and local connection that must bring electricity to the building.
The common question is what happens next: plant upgrades, manufacturing qualification, commercial battery trials or campus handover. We’ll keep separating those milestones from the headline number.
Sources linked below.
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