In the process of becoming the world’s largest data center hub, Texas is also emerging as a laboratory where new data center technologies are being developed and tested, especially those related to energy storage.

Chrissy Olsen, vice president of critical power solutions for MPI Energy, a manufacturer of industrial battery solutions, said the widespread adoption of artificial intelligence and high-performance computing applications is making clear the challenges that data center developers and operators face: utility capacity constraints, longer interconnection timelines, compressed construction schedules and higher-density infrastructure. 

Developers are having to make increasingly complex decisions about how facilities will generate, store and manage power, with battery storage emerging as a pain point.

“The next generation of data centers will require more battery options, not fewer,” Olsen said. “The conversation shouldn't start with chemistry. It should start with what the facility needs the battery to do.”

In conversations at Bisnow’s DICE South in Dallas in August, Olsen said one message was clear: The power architecture that Texas data centers will need to support their growth will have to evolve. Specifically, battery energy storage solutions were an often-cited potential fix.

Known as BESS, this approach stores excess energy in rechargeable batteries, releasing it when the data center needs the power. BESS helps to stabilize and increase the reliability of the electrical grid, which is no small consideration in a state that could potentially double its data center capacity by 2030.

“That doesn't mean batteries will replace the grid, generators or other forms of on-site generation,” Olsen said. “It means storage will increasingly become another critical component of a diversified power architecture — providing operators with greater flexibility as they address resilience, power availability, load management and the evolving relationship between utility and behind-the-meter resources.”

Bisnow spoke with Olsen to learn more about evolving energy storage solutions and how they will be vital to the operation of data centers in Texas and elsewhere.

Bisnow: What did you hear in conversations at DICE concerning energy storage?

Olsen: AI is forcing the industry to reconsider assumptions that have governed data center infrastructure for decades. For instance, power can no longer be addressed as a utility conversation alone. Backup cannot be viewed exclusively as insurance against an outage. And energy storage cannot remain an afterthought.

DICE attendees were discussing the growing importance of BESS. The conversations treated storage not as an experimental technology but as something that will become indispensable to the future power architecture of AI data centers.

Bisnow: Does this mean BESS is becoming the dominant solution for data centers’ energy storage concerns?

Olsen: No, the future isn't about choosing between backup batteries and BESS. It's about understanding where each belongs and engineering them together as part of a more resilient power strategy.

Batteries are moving from being viewed primarily as uninterruptible power supply components to playing multiple roles within a facility's resiliency and energy architecture. That is directly aligned with MPI Energy's expansion into broader battery and energy storage solutions.

Different applications require different solutions. That is why we’re expanding the chemistries and configurations we offer so customers have greater choice across valve-regulated lead-acid, lithium iron phosphate and additional battery technologies as our portfolio develops.

Bisnow: How is MPI Energy positioning itself to serve the needs of Texas data centers?

Olsen: We are relocating our Dallas-area operations to a significantly larger facility to support the company's current growth and expanding capabilities. 

The move represents more than additional square footage: It reflects MPI Energy's commitment to the Texas data center market and its strategy to support customers throughout North America with a broader range of critical power and energy storage solutions. DICE South reinforced why that investment matters.

Bisnow: How should data center operators be thinking about energy storage?

Olsen: They should stop beginning the battery conversation with chemistry and instead begin with the application: What does the facility need the battery to accomplish, for how long, under what operating conditions and as part of what larger power architecture? Once those things are understood, determine the appropriate chemistry and configuration.

We see MPI Energy at the intersection of traditional mission-critical battery expertise and the emerging energy storage requirements of AI infrastructure, where we are helping customers move from simply selecting batteries to engineering comprehensive resiliency strategies.

This article was produced in collaboration between MPI Energy and Studio B. Bisnow news staff was not involved in the production of this content.

Studio B is Bisnow’s in-house content and design studio. To learn more about how Studio B can help your team, reach out to studio@bisnow.com.