Crusoe Drops $1.25B Boom Turbine Plan for AI Data Centers

Crusoe has ended plans to use Boom Supersonic’s stationary power plants for AI data centers. The original launch partnership called for Crusoe to spend $1.25 billion on 29 Boom Superpower turbines, each rated at 42 megawatts, with first deliveries expected to begin in 2027.

Boom Supersonic CEO Blake Scholl said the turbines are no longer part of Crusoe’s near-term primary power mix, making the launch partnership a poor fit for now.

Boom created the Superpower turbine business as a natural gas-fired stationary power plant line based on work tied to its Symphony aircraft engine. The turbine shares about 80% of the same parts with Symphony, which Boom is developing for its Overture supersonic passenger jet.

Crusoe had been positioned as the first customer for that new business, giving the arrangement significance beyond one data center project.

Crusoe told TechCrunch it is no longer doing business with Boom and said it chooses energy solutions by site as needs evolve. The company cited turbines, wind, solar, batteries, and the grid as possible parts of its portfolio.

Its initial 1.2-gigawatt Abilene data center built for Oracle and OpenAI is powered by the grid, with a gas-turbine power plant used only for backup power. Crusoe is also building a 900-megawatt Abilene data center for Microsoft that will be powered by on-site gas turbines.

Losing Crusoe as a launch customer appears to be a setback for Boom’s stationary power plant business. TechCrunch reported Boom raised $300 million last year largely to commercialize the business, with the goal of using profits to help fund Overture development.

Scholl said Boom still has other customers in its pipeline and expects to deliver about 250 megawatts of Superpower turbines next year, with a 1-gigawatt target in 2028.