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(Bloomberg) — A data center builder and a battery startup have agreed to deploy a\u00a0novel type of energy storage\u00a0for the first time at a US data center. It\u2019s the latest example of tech companies\u2019 search for ways to manage the\u00a0soaring energy needs\u00a0of artificial intelligence.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Prometheus Hyperscale and XL Batteries will install what\u2019s known as an organic flow battery at the one-gigawatt data center Prometheus is building in Wyoming. The project will begin as a small pilot in 2027 with plans to install another 25 MW of energy storage in 2028 and 2029.\u00a0Organic flow batteries are unique because they don\u2019t require lithium and rely instead on pumping positive and negative electrolytes through stacks of power cells to store and release energy.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The data centers that run artificial intelligence and cloud operations already require massive amounts of electricity, and the need is set to grow further. US data centers will rise from 3.5% of total electricity demand today to 8.6% by 2035, according to BloombergNEF\u00a0projections. That growth has utilities and hyperscalers searching high and low for electrons by\u00a0building new gas plants,\u00a0<\/span>restarting retired nuclear facilities<\/a><\/span>,\u00a0and\u00a0digging deep into the ground\u00a0to tap the Earth\u2019s heat. Both traditional lithium-ion or unorthodox flow storage can store energy generated by renewables and help manage data center needs.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n