22 August 2025, Caterpillar Inc., one of the world’s leading manufacturers of industrial and power generation equipment, has announced a strategic partnership with Hunt Energy, a U.S.-based power infrastructure developer, to address the growing energy needs of the data center industry. The collaboration marks a multi-year initiative that aims to deliver more than 1GW of generation capacity for data centers across North America, with the inaugural project slated to launch in Texas. While the companies have not disclosed a deployment timetable, the partnership underscores the increasing urgency to secure reliable, scalable, and sustainable energy solutions for the rapidly expanding data center sector.

Commenting on the agreement, Hunter Hunt, Chief Executive Officer of Hunt Energy, emphasized the strategic importance of the collaboration. “This partnership with Caterpillar represents a major step forward in our commitment to delivering innovative and flexible energy solutions. Starting in Texas, we are laying the foundation for a new era of data center power infrastructure,” Hunt said.

As part of the partnership, Caterpillar will leverage its full portfolio of power generation solutions. This includes natural gas and diesel generators, gas turbines, switchgear, controls, aftertreatment technologies, and comprehensive engineering design services. Additionally, Caterpillar will extend its monitoring and servicing expertise to ensure power reliability for both grid-connected and off-grid operations. This offering highlight Caterpillar’s longstanding position as a trusted provider of mission-critical backup power systems for global data center operators.

Hunt Energy will bring complementary capabilities to the initiative by contributing project financing, operational execution, and its extensive expertise in battery energy storage systems (BESS). Over the past four years, Hunt has successfully deployed more than 310MW of BESS assets, particularly within the ERCOT market in Texas, positioning itself as a significant player in distributed energy infrastructure. The integration of BESS technology into data center projects will further enhance reliability and resilience while supporting broader energy transition goals.

Melissa Busen, Senior Vice President of Caterpillar’s Electric Power division, reinforced the alignment between the two companies. “Caterpillar is excited to continue to collaborate with Hunt Energy to deliver robust and efficient energy solutions for data centers. Hunt’s proven expertise in energy infrastructure complements Caterpillar’s leadership in power systems, enabling us to jointly develop scalable solutions that meet the high demands of reliability, uptime, and performance critical to data center operations.”

Caterpillar’s engagement with the data center sector extends beyond traditional diesel generator solutions. The company has been actively pursuing innovative and sustainable approaches to power delivery. In 2023, Caterpillar partnered with Microsoft on a hydrogen fuel cell demonstration, successfully powering a data center for 48 hours to test hydrogen’s viability as a clean backup power option. This project signaled Caterpillar’s commitment to advancing alternative energy solutions that align with global decarbonization efforts.

For Hunt Energy, the partnership represents its first significant entry into the data center market. The Dallas-based company has primarily focused on the development and deployment of BESS assets, with a claim of owning and operating nearly one in six BESS installations within ERCOT. Expanding into data center power infrastructure through its collaboration with Caterpillar allows Hunt to diversify its portfolio while supporting one of the fastest-growing sectors in the global economy.