National Grid Ventures, the commercial arm of National Grid plc, has agreed to invest $1.75 billion for a 35% stake in Joulent LLC, a technology-driven energy company purpose-built to deliver large-scale power to data centers and other compute-intensive industries.

The deal, announced on July 1, 2026, from Washington, DC, marks National Grid Ventures' entry into one of the fastest-growing segments of electricity demand in the United States.

A Partnership Built Around Speed to Power

Rising demand from data centers and power-intensive industries is outpacing the timelines of traditional grid connections, creating pressure for dedicated, scalable power solutions that can be brought online quickly.

Joulent was established specifically to address that gap, developing integrated power solutions that include co-located gas generation, battery storage, renewables integration, and what the company calls Across-the-Meter grid connections.

Chris James, Founder and CEO of Joulent, described the arrangement as designed to meet the urgent timelines of AI infrastructure without pushing costs onto local communities.

"This investment from National Grid Ventures strengthens Joulent's ability to deliver reliable, large-scale power on the timelines AI infrastructure and advanced industry now require," James said.

"We are building an independent company designed for speed, scale, and execution, without shifting the cost of that growth onto local communities while also providing tailor-made and cost-competitive solutions for our customers."

Zoë Yujnovich, Chief Executive of National Grid, characterized the investment as disciplined and consistent with the company's long-term infrastructure strategy.

"Our investment in Joulent is a disciplined, partner-led investment in contracted critical infrastructure for the AI-driven large-load economy," Yujnovich said.

"It extends National Grid's core strengths of investing in long-duration infrastructure with predictable cash flows and attractive risk-adjusted returns."

Project Kilby: A 2.67 GW Facility in West Texas

The centerpiece of the newly formed partnership is Project Kilby, referred to as Kilby, a 2.67 gigawatt co-located power facility planned for West Texas.

National Grid Ventures' investment will enable the development of Kilby in a 50/50 partnership with Chevron Corporation.

The facility will provide dedicated electricity to a Microsoft-operated data center under a 20-year power purchase agreement. Development of the project is described as being at an advanced stage.

Critical equipment has been secured, including GE Vernova turbines, and EPC capacity has been reserved. The project is targeting first power delivery by 2028.

Noelle Walsh, Microsoft's President of Cloud Operations and Innovation, noted the significance of closer coordination between energy and infrastructure players.

"AI and cloud are advancing at a pace that requires closer coordination between energy and infrastructure, and we welcome National Grid Ventures' experience and capabilities in helping address this challenge and support reliable, high-performance compute at scale," Walsh said.

Beyond Kilby, Joulent has described a multi-gigawatt pipeline of future projects that could provide incremental growth over time, though no specific details on those projects were disclosed in the announcement.

More Than Capital: Operational Expertise on the Table

The strategic partnership is intended to extend beyond the financial investment. National Grid is expected to enhance Joulent's operations through what the company describes as deep expertise in high-voltage networks, system integration and balancing, infrastructure development, and project execution.

In return, the partnership is also expected to generate insights and relationships that can strengthen National Grid's own data center connection program.

National Grid expects to connect more than 10 gigawatts of demand across the United Kingdom and the United States over the next five years as part of that program.

Joulent's approach is described as modular, integrating generation, storage, and advanced controls to deliver scalable power directly to new industrial loads.

The company says its solutions are designed to reduce strain on existing grids while providing exportable power over time, with a longer-term pathway toward full grid connection for customers.

Funding and Financial Structure

The USD 1.75 billion investment is described as incremental to National Grid's existing five-year capital investment program of at least USD 90 billion, running through 2031.

The investment will be funded through the Group's balance sheet headroom, with a final investment decision expected in 2026.

National Grid Ventures' existing U.S. portfolio includes competitive transmission, battery storage, solar, liquefied natural gas storage, and conventional generation assets.

The company also operates what it describes as the world's largest portfolio of high-voltage subsea interconnectors in Europe and says it is applying that expertise to strengthen and expand the U.S. electric grid.

The Joulent investment represents a deliberate move by National Grid Ventures into a segment shaped by the rapid proliferation of artificial intelligence infrastructure, where the demand for firm, baseload power at scale is accelerating faster than conventional utility-scale grid development can accommodate.