Lincoln company helps power data centers

Hexagon Agility, a subsidiary of Hexagon Composites, has secured a $100 million order for its composite storage modules to supply compressed natural gas to hyperscale data centers across the United States. This order, the largest in the company's history, highlights the increasing demand for mobile pipeline solutions as data centers outpace existing energy infrastructure. The contract includes an option to expand to $125 million.

Mobile pipelines, consisting of semi-trucks equipped with large tanks, provide natural gas delivery to locations lacking sufficient pipeline infrastructure. This solution is critical as the rapid development of data centers in remote areas, such as the Arizona desert, faces significant delays in energy infrastructure expansion, often exceeding four years.

Philipp Schramm, CEO of Hexagon Composites, emphasized the importance of flexible energy solutions, stating, "Data centers are being built faster than the energy infrastructure needed to support them." Hexagon's mobile pipeline product supports "behind-the-meter" power development, where temporary power plants are established to meet immediate energy needs.

Christopher Louney from RBC Capital Markets reported that data center developers have announced approximately 101 gigawatts of behind-the-meter natural gas generation capacity, sufficient to power over 75 million homes. A Cleanview report indicated that 25% of U.S. data centers under development plan to use behind-the-meter power sources initially.

Hexagon, based in Norway with a significant manufacturing presence in Lincoln, Nebraska, offers data center developers a way to proceed without waiting for permanent pipeline installations. Chet Dawes, senior vice president of global engineering and R&D, noted that Hexagon's mobile pipeline product allows for continuous gas supply, enabling developers to meet project timelines.

Hexagon's history in Lincoln dates back to 1963 as Lincoln Composites. The company, acquired by Hexagon Composites in 2005, continues to produce carbon-fiber tanks for renewable fuels. The mobile pipeline product, developed over 15 years ago, has been utilized in various industrial applications, including the Olympics in Russia.