Cummins announced that its power generation division has been selected to supply battery energy storage systems (BESS) for a large US data center project, supporting the utility company's requirements to manage AI-driven load fluctuations, mitigate load swings, and improve performance during service disruptions.
This announcement marks a significant milestone for Cummins' battery energy storage systems (BESS) business, as this project represents the company's largest BESS deployment to date. It also reflects Cummins' ongoing commitment to the North American data center market, providing reliable and sustainable power solutions.
“This project represents a significant achievement for Cummins and reflects the confidence our customers place in our ability to deliver innovative energy solutions at scale,” said Jenny Bush , president of Cummins’ Power Systems division.
“As demand for data center capacity continues to grow, Cummins is uniquely positioned to support its customers with a broad range of energy solutions, from diesel backup power and natural gas prime power to battery energy storage systems (BESS) and integrated microgrid solutions. This project reinforces our commitment to helping our customers build reliable, resilient, and increasingly sustainable energy infrastructures,” he added.
The BESS solution adds an additional layer of capacity to the project's power architecture. The system is designed to help meet the utility's requirements for managing AI-driven load fluctuations, mitigating load swings, and supporting peak demand capacity. It can be rapidly charged or discharged to reduce peak demand, improve power quality, and maintain a more stable load profile at the point of interconnection with the utility.
Launched in May 2025, Cummins' BESS solutions reflect the company's commitment to innovation and evolution based on the needs of its customers.
For data center developers, battery energy storage systems (BESS) are becoming a strategic element for power supply. As grid constraints intensify, interconnection queues grow, and energy costs rise, BESS can help accelerate deployment timelines, improve resilience, and optimize available power capacity.
Cummins offers a flexible, large-scale BESS solution designed to ensure short-term power availability and develop long-term energy resilience strategies. Whether deployed as a grid-tied solution, integrated with backup power systems, or incorporated into a larger microgrid architecture, Cummins' BESS solution can help customers maximize available grid capacity, manage peak demand, and meet utility-defined load management requirements, smoothing out rapid, AI-driven fluctuations in energy demand.
Key specifications of Cummins BESS for AI data center and campus applications include:
- Designed specifically for hyperscale workloads, ensuring resilient operation.
- Flexible DC block architecture compatible with multiple PCS and EMS ecosystems.
- Prepared for connection to the electrical grid and designed for integration with diesel and natural gas generators.
- Nominal capacity of 5 MWh
- Lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery chemistry
- Thermal management of liquid cooling
- UL 9540A, UL 9540, UL 1973, NFPA 855, NFPA 68, IEEE 1547 and UL 1741 SA/SB
Backed by over 100 years of Cummins' power generation experience, Cummins BESS solutions are more than just energy storage systems. They are tools that enable developers to create resilient energy ecosystems that facilitate faster deployment and reliable operation of hyperscale, AI-driven data centers.
“The future of data center growth depends on finding smarter and faster ways to deploy and manage energy. Battery energy storage systems (BESS) are rapidly becoming a critical part of the modern data center energy strategy,” Bush said.
“From grid connectivity and peak demand management applications to long-term resilience, BESSs give data center operators greater flexibility to deploy, optimize, and scale their energy infrastructure,” he added.