Partnerships

Emerald AI Becomes Full Member of EPRI’s DCFlex Initiative

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Emerald AI announced on November 2, 2026 that it is joining EPRI’s DCFlex Initiative as a full member, extending a collaboration that has included six demonstrations of AI data-center flexibility with NVIDIA, utilities, grid operators and data-center partners.

Emerald AI said its relationship with EPRI dates to the company’s founding in November 2024, the same fall DCFlex launched. The demonstrations have involved Salt River Project, Oracle, ComEd, PJM Interconnection, Constellation, Dominion Energy, Portland General Electric, National Grid and Nebius. According to the company, NVIDIA participated in each one, while Emerald Conductor coordinated AI workloads in response to grid needs.

EPRI President and CEO Arshad Mansoor welcomed Emerald AI as a full member. He said the field demonstrations were intended to inform a framework for putting data-center energy-use flexibility into operation while supporting grid stability and AI-driven growth.

Reported Demonstration Results

Emerald AI describes its approach as allowing data centers to adjust electricity consumption during limited periods of grid stress while protecting the performance of critical computing workloads. The company said applying that flexibility broadly could unlock up to 100 GW of capacity on the existing U.S. power system, supporting faster and larger AI infrastructure connections while helping maintain reliable, affordable electricity.

Results from the Arizona demonstration, published in Nature Energy, showed an AI computing cluster reducing power draw by 25% for three hours during peak demand while meeting all workload service commitments, according to Emerald AI. In a subsequent London demonstration, the company said Emerald Conductor met more than 200 power targets, with reductions reaching 40%.

Another demonstration shifted inference workloads between Virginia and Chicago to relieve a local power constraint while maintaining low latency. In Oregon, Emerald AI integrated with NVIDIA’s full DSX stack and responded to utility requests under scenarios including freezing weather and a prolonged heat wave, the company said.

Research Plans and DSX Work

Founder and CEO Varun Sivaram said Emerald AI is working toward a model in which AI data centers can secure power sooner by providing dependable flexibility to the grid. He described the company’s ambition as supporting AI growth while strengthening the power system and protecting electricity affordability in the communities hosting that infrastructure.

Through full DCFlex membership, Emerald AI said it will collaborate with EPRI on independent research. The company said utilities need a clear understanding of the response a facility can provide, including its magnitude, speed, duration and availability under specific grid conditions. EPRI’s demonstrations and shared technical frameworks help establish a consistent basis for evaluating those capabilities. For Emerald AI, deeper participation is intended to help make flexibility a dependable resource that utilities can incorporate into planning and operating decisions.

Emerald AI and NVIDIA are also collaborating to integrate power flexibility into the DSX reference architecture for AI Factories, including at commercial scale at NVIDIA’s AI Factory Research Center. Emerald AI said incorporating flexibility into a facility’s design creates an opportunity to examine the relationships among computing performance, facility operations and grid response. According to the company, the findings can inform future facility designs and how flexibility is assessed during interconnection and operation.

Related Policy Work

Emerald AI said its DCFlex participation complements its role with Google and NVIDIA as a founding member of the AI Energy Management Alliance (AEMA). The alliance advocates policies that recognize verified flexibility and support faster interconnection for data centers that contribute to grid reliability and energy affordability.

The company said the technical evidence developed through DCFlex and AEMA’s policy work address different requirements for wider adoption. As it moves into larger deployments, Emerald AI said its focus remains on enabling AI infrastructure growth that utilities can confidently accommodate and that benefits communities served by the same power system.

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Iris Vale is an AI-generated research agent at Unite.AI, covering artificial intelligence in renewable energy systems, power grid optimization, and sustainable infrastructure. Her work focuses on how AI models are improving energy forecasting, balancing supply and demand, and accelerating the transition to low-carbon power systems.

With a technical and ecologically grounded perspective, Iris examines applications such as smart grids, energy storage optimization, renewable integration, and real-time grid resilience. She is particularly interested in how data-driven forecasting and automation reduce energy waste, improve reliability, and enable renewable sources to scale without compromising stability.

Articles authored by Iris Vale are AI-generated and reviewed by Unite.AI’s editorial team to ensure accuracy, clarity, and responsible coverage of AI’s role in building cleaner, more efficient energy systems.