On Wednesday, energy startup Arbor Energy announced the sale of up to 5 gigawatts of its modular turbines to GridMarket, which supports power project arrangements for data centers and industrial clients. 

“Demand for power is high. They desired it yesterday,” stated Arbor co-founder and CEO Brad Hartwig to TechCrunch. “Deadlines are tightening, and the scale is expanding.”

Arbor’s Halcyon turbines leverage rocket turbomachinery, advanced engine technology originally intended for space missions, with the inaugural commercial turbines being 3D printed and capable of producing 25 megawatts each. GridMarket’s order could total 200 units if completely fulfilled.

Neither company revealed the specific deal price; however, Hartwig mentioned that Arbor has noted a “willingness to pay of over $100 per megawatt-hour.” An insider shared with TechCrunch that the overall amount is in the single-digit billion range.

The startup aims to link its first turbine to the grid by 2028 and increase production through 2030, at which point it aspires to provide over 100 turbines each year. Hartwig explained that the long-term target is to generate sufficient capacity for 10 gigawatts annually.

Initially, Arbor designed Halcyon to operate on a vegetarian diet — the power plant would process organic materials such as crop residues and wood waste from agriculture and timber industry, transforming them into syngas — a flammable gas mixture — and combusting it with pure oxygen. The outcome would be pure CO₂, which could be captured and stored underground.

Through this process, each Halcyon turbine would produce carbon-negative electricity. The organic materials used would have otherwise decomposed, emitting methane and carbon dioxide into the environment.

Subsequent to that, Arbor has adapted Halcyon to utilize natural gas alongside biomass — effectively turning it into an omnivore. The procedure essentially remains unchanged, meaning the CO₂ produced can still be sequestered. 

Due to the incorporation of natural gas, it would not be carbon negative in that framework. In fact, since methane escapes from pipes and valves within the supply chain, Halcyon turbines operating on fossil fuels will generate some greenhouse gas emissions while also sustaining ongoing natural gas demand. Hartwig indicated that the firm collaborates with low-leak natural gas providers and that it’s “economically advantageous to sequester that CO₂.”

“We envision a long-term trajectory of less than 10 grams of CO₂ for each kilowatt-hour,” Hartwig remarked. This is considerably lower compared to conventional natural gas power plants without carbon capture, which emit approximately 400 grams of CO₂ per kilowatt-hour.

Arbor continues to pursue its biomass-powered initiatives, and the contract with GridMarket is not limited to a solitary fuel type. Nonetheless, other confirmed agreements based on biomass are significantly smaller than the one with GridMarket.

Like many energy startups, Arbor has gained considerable momentum from the surge in data center demand. Manufacturers of traditional gas turbines were unprepared, and given the past volatility of such markets, they have hesitated to substantially increase output. Hartwig expressed that they would struggle to rapidly boost production, even if they desired to. 

“Supply chains for traditional turbines mainly get bottlenecked by blades and vanes. These are quite rigid supply chains, both in terms of the artisanal production method — creating directionally solidified, single-crystal turbine blades — as well as the highly specialized labor that supports it,” he explained. “If you were to place an order for a turbine now, you would be waiting until 2032.”

Arbor is banking on its machined and 3D printed components to accelerate its market entry. “People require power in the near future and in substantial quantities,” Hartwig noted.