Form Energy and Crusoe Bet Big on 100-Hour Batteries

Form Energy and Crusoe partner to deploy 12GWh of iron-air batteries, ensuring AI data centers stay online with 100-hour renewable storage

16 Apr 2026

The artificial intelligence revolution is notoriously hungry for power, but its next great meal might just be iron and air. Form Energy and Crusoe recently finalized a massive 12 gigawatt-hour agreement to deploy long-duration batteries across American data centers. This isn't just a purchase order; it is a fundamental shift in how the digital world stays powered when the sun goes down and the wind stops blowing.

As AI "factories" scale to unprecedented sizes, the traditional electric grid is hitting a wall. Crusoe is sidestepping these bottlenecks by adopting an energy-first philosophy, utilizing technology that can discharge power for four days straight. These batteries operate through a process of reversible rusting, exchanging the volatility of lithium for the steady reliability of iron. It is a low-cost, high-endurance solution for a sector that cannot afford a single second of downtime.

Manufacturing for this initiative stays local, with production centered at Form Factory 1 in West Virginia. This deal signals a new era where tech giants are no longer passive consumers but active architects of the energy landscape. By integrating massive storage directly into their infrastructure, these companies can bypass typical grid delays. Efficiency is the new currency, and domestic manufacturing is the mint.

The scale of this partnership represents 10 percent of the total projected long-duration storage needs for early-adopter markets. It proves that the transition to a carbon-free future is no longer a laboratory experiment. As Form Energy ramps up its assembly lines, the message to the industry is clear: the future of intelligence will be forged in iron. The grid is finally catching up to the cloud.