The jet engines that Boom Supersonic wants to build in Greensboro for airlines may wind up powering data centers first.
Boom announced Tuesday that it received an order from San Francisco-based data center operator Crusoe for 29 “Superpower” turbines. Crusoe has projects in store or online in Texas, Wyoming, Iceland and Norway, with Boom’s turbine engines serving as a stationary power plant
The deal with Boom for gas turbines follows a July transaction with GE Vernova for 29 turbines. The GE units are each capable of supplying as much as 35 megawatts of power. Boom says its units will be able to supply 42 megawatts.
Testing of the turbines is slated to begin in 2026 in Colorado, where Boom is headquartered. Founder Blake Scholl said via Twitter that the company will build the turbines in Colorado.
Boom says it has lined up $300 million in private investment that “fully funds” the development of its Symphony engine. It also expects profit from Superpower turbines sales to “finance certification and delivery of Overture.” That’s the supersonic transport it intends to build in Greensboro.
In 2022, the company said it expects to eventually invest $500 million and employ more than 1,700 people in Greensboro. The project is aided by nearly $200 million in promised state and local incentives, mostly tied to hitting job and investment targets.
The Superpower turbines will use the core of the Symphony engine, which remain in development. Boom says 95% of the parts for the prototype are in manufacturing.
Boom always saw power-generation applications as part of the future for its turbine technology, Scholl said, but it accelerated those plans because of AI industry demands.
“Our grid has flatlined while China has raced ahead,” he said. “Hyperscalers have racks of GPUs sitting idle with no electricity to power them.”
Boom said Darsana Capital Partners, a New York City-based hedge fund, is leading the group that is investing $300 million. Darsana’s investments include HVA Healthcare and the parent company of The New York Times. Partner Steve Friedman said Boom “has assembled an incredible team and executed with impressive discipline.”
Other firms in the investment group include Altimeter Capital, ARK Invest, Bessemer Venture Partners, Robinhood Ventures and Y Combinator, Boom said.
