Climate Rising

How Crusoe is Reducing the Carbon Intensity of AI Data Centers

6 snips
Oct 15, 2025
Hui Wen Chan, Senior Director of Sustainability at Crusoe and HBS alum, dives into how AI is skyrocketing energy demands and the innovative strategies Crusoe employs to combat this. She discusses using stranded energy, repurposed EV batteries, and advanced cooling technologies to create eco-friendly data centers. Hui highlights the importance of modularity, location-based energy sourcing, and how various clients align climate goals with their computing strategies. She also shares insights from her career path and offers tips for those looking to merge AI with sustainability.
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INSIGHT

Bring Compute To Where Energy Exists

  • Crusoe brings compute to where excess or stranded energy exists rather than waiting for traditional data center markets.
  • Locating near available generation enables faster, large-scale deployments to meet AI demand.
ANECDOTE

Pilot: Solar Plus Second‑Life EV Batteries

  • Hui described a Nevada pilot with Redwood Materials using recycled EV batteries tied to a solar microgrid to power AI off-grid.
  • The project repurposes second-life batteries to avoid new raw-material mining and lower storage costs.
INSIGHT

Cooling Dominates Data Center Energy

  • Cooling is the second-largest energy draw, often >40% after IT load, so efficient cooling is essential.
  • Crusoe uses direct-to-liquid cooling to handle dense GPU heat and cut cooling energy use.
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