Data centers for AI are massively searching the world for used gas turbines — in particular, they are restoring mothballed equipment and converting decommissioned jet engines.

This situation, as Reuters writes, has arisen due to very long lead times for new equipment, a shortage of which is felt throughout the industry.

In particular, Aurora Tenorio, a senior analyst at the energy consulting company Wood Mackenzie, assessing the current turbine market in the US, noted that negotiations are already underway for equipment supplies for 2030-2031 — four to five years ahead.

"The secondary market is very, very hot right now," commented Ana Amicarella, CEO of equipment supplier EthosEnergy, in turn. She added that now, in addition to the shortage, there is also a significant increase in prices.

It is not possible to estimate the scale of the secondary market for used gas turbines in specific figures, but its very emergence says a lot.

For example, Crusoe, a company engaged in the development of artificial intelligence infrastructure, in April ordered 13 so-called aeroderivative gas turbines from the American company ProEnergy. These turbines are based on jet engines manufactured by GE Aerospace — they will be deployed in Crusoe's AI data center projects in the US.

Today, according to the consulting company Wood Mackenzie, global orders for such equipment exceed 100 gigawatts (GW), while global production capacity can only provide equipment with a total capacity of 60 GW to 70 GW.

Analysts at the investment bank Jefferies calculated that US data centers alone generated demand for almost 17 GW already this year, and this figure could more than triple by 2028.

Although global gas turbine production capacity is growing and should reach 87 GW in 2028, it will still be significantly less than expected demand. In the United States, the delivery of a gas turbine currently takes an average of six years.

At the same time, used, refurbished or repurposed equipment has its own problems: turbines after major repairs may have an unclear maintenance history and a limited service life. In turn, converted jet engines raise questions about their suitability for continuous operation as power generators.

"Every few weeks we receive a request: 'Can you find a used gas turbine to install in a data center?'" noted Darius Pardiwala, who heads the American business of Sulzer.

Interestingly, Ukraine is also preparing for a large-scale expansion of its own infrastructure for artificial intelligence. At the end of summer, the state launched the so-called sovereign infrastructure — an "AI factory" — and is now negotiating with investors about building a full-fledged large data center on the territory of the country.