AI isn't only driver of gas turbine demand, GE Vernova exec says
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
Photo illustration: Axios Visuals. Photo: Courtesy of GE Vernova
GE Vernova is a player in helping provide fuel for AI, but data centers are still a minority of the booming demand for its gas turbines, a top exec said.
Why it matters: "If you think about ... industrialization, electrification, that's really what I would say is driving the bulk of our orders last year and really into this year," said Eric Gray, CEO of GE Vernova's gas power business.
- Data centers are "the one thing that people are most excited to talk about, but it's probably one of the smaller slivers of what's actually driving the market today," Gray said in an interview.
Zoom in: GE Vernova says it has a 29 gigawatt backlog of turbine orders and 21 GW of earlier-stage "slot reservation" agreements. Of those 21 GW, only about one-third are "aligned" with data centers, the company has said.
- It's booking turbine orders for 2028 and 2029, with 2026 and 2027 largely sold out.
The intrigue: GE Vernova is supplying seven large turbines for Chevron's plan to build power plants that directly supply data centers rather than feeding wider power grids.
Gray is also jazzed about emerging use cases for its turbines capable of running on hydrogen as well as gas, even though hydrogen power is a small market segment right now.
- Over 120 GE Vernova turbines of various sizes are already running on some level of hydrogen in different countries, a spokesperson said.
How it works: One area in which Gray sees opportunities is in using renewables to power hydrogen electrolyzers when those wind and solar assets provide excess output during stretches of low demand.
- That hydrogen can then supply a nearby power plant that runs on a hydrogen-natural gas blend to help meet peak demand needs.
What we're watching: This concept is part of a wider gas plant project using GE Vernova aeroderivative turbines under development in Queensland, Australia.
- "Instead of just kind of shutting off blocks of power, you use that electron to create hydrogen through an electrolyzer, store the hydrogen, and now you've basically created a storage solution out of your renewable energy that you can then burn in a gas turbine," Gray said.
A few other highlights from our chat with Gray and Roger Martella, GE Vernova's chief sustainability officer and head of corporate affairs...
🗳️ They're against gutting the 2022 climate law. GE Vernova's business spans gas, wind, nuclear, hydro and other electrification services. They reject a fossil-vs.-renewables frame.
- "It's a myth to say that what's good for gas is bad for renewables and what's good for renewables is bad for gas. We just don't see it that way. They each have a role to play. They're each playing complementary roles," Martella said.
- Early this year, GE Vernova announced a $600 million, multi-state U.S. manufacturing expansion across its business lines.
💵 They've got some insulation from tariffs. Gray said they've had to discuss "sharing the impact" of tariffs in conversations with customers about the fluid landscape.
- But growing power needs are the wider context, and the market has been "quite resilient," Gray said.
"[T]he reality is that just given the need for electrons in the U.S. today, while [customers] are now having to readjust their expectations, it hasn't prevented them from moving forward with their plans in terms of either placing firm orders and or signing more slot reservation agreements."
- And Trump 2.0's fusion of diplomacy and trade is driving business, too. Saudi business giants touted up to $14.2 billion in business plans with GE Vernova during President Trump's visit to the kingdom this month.
