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Tennessee Data Center Intel
Latest data center news, projects, power and policy across Tennessee — updated daily.
Recent Tennessee data center news
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Modeling framework reveals grid battery aging effects
Oak Ridge National Laboratory has announced research using high performance computing and physics-based modeling to analyze battery aging and improve the design of megawatt-hour grid storage systems.
- ORNL researchers are coupling HPC with a physics-based modeling framework to evaluate how operating strategies affect battery aging over 500-1,000 cycles, with results in days instead of weeks.
- The model scales from cell-level to module- and pack-level performance, simulates more than 10,000 cells at once, and is intended to optimize electrical architecture, control strategies, and operating schedules; the work was funded by DOE’s Office of Electricity and supports the Genesis Mission.
- The research found different degradation pathways for frequency regulation versus energy-cost reduction use cases, and noted that low-voltage systems showed more aging variation than high-voltage systems.
- The team received a Best Paper Award at the IEEE Electrical Energy Storage Application and Technologies Conference earlier this year for the work describing the project.
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Aalo Atomics’ Test Reactor Reaches Criticality at INL, Fourth DOE-Authorized Advanced Reactor by July 4
Aalo Atomics has announced that its Aalo-X Critical Test Reactor (CTR), dubbed Project First Light, reached criticality at Idaho National Laboratory on July 4, making it the fourth DOE-authorized advanced reactor to achieve criticality in the recent federal reactor testing push.
- DOE said Aalo’s test reactor successfully completed a zero-power fueled criticality demonstration at INL under the Reactor Pilot Program; Aalo told POWER the CTR reached criticality at 12:20 a.m. MT on July 4.
- Aalo CEO Matt Loszak said criticality paves the way for the Aalo Pod to power commercial data centers after NRC authorization; Aalo said the 10 MWe Aalo-X design supports construction and licensing in 2027 and operations/safety demonstrations in 2028.
- The article also says Aalo has begun work on Project Ascension, a second reactor on the INL campus, with excavation and earthwork completed and first concrete being prepared; Aalo expects to finish it by end-2026 and make commercial-scale electricity in 2027.
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Six insights into the success of the Manufacturing Demonstration Facility
Oak Ridge National Laboratory is highlighting the Manufacturing Demonstration Facility’s collaboration model and workforce development approach.
- MDF is presented as a nationwide innovation hub for advanced manufacturing, using collocation, CRADAs, and hands-on collaboration with industry, entrepreneurs, startups, universities, and government partners.
- The article says MDF has operated since 2012, grown from fewer than ten staff to more than 200, and supported more than 10,000 students through America’s Cutting Edge (ACE); it also references Beehive Industries opening a 60,000-square-foot facility in Knox County in 2024 as an example of successful technology transfer.
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Omen AI raises $31m to develop fluid monitoring system for data centers
Omen AI has announced the closing of a $31 million Series A round led by Nava Ventures to develop its fluid-analysis sensors and monitoring systems for data centers and industrial machines.
- Main announcement: Omen AI closed a $31 million Series A led by Nava Ventures, bringing total funding to $41.5 million since its 2024 founding; the company develops permanent and portable fluid-analysis sensors that monitor coolant/oil/water health in real time for servers and industrial equipment.
- Background/details: Investors include Sheryl Sandberg, Mike Mattacola (neocloud CoreWeave), CRV, Vanderbilt University, LMNT Ventures, Mann+Hummel, Borusan Ventures, Starhill Holdings, Hard Launch Capital, and executives from Bridgestone, GM, Johnson Controls, and TensorWave; the company says it already monitors coolant health for operators representing $200 billion in assets and 10GW–14GW of capacity.
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30MW cryptomine proposed in Starkville, Mississippi
An unnamed firm has proposed a cryptocurrency mining facility in Starkville, Mississippi.
- Project details: The proposal is for a facility adjacent to an electrical substation on Industrial Park Road, with a potential load of up to 30MW; the plan is in early review and city officials say it could be several months before another update. The same company is reportedly seeking additional sites in Tennessee for much larger hyperscale centers “five to ten-fold, and maybe even 20-plus-times larger.”
- Local response and technical points:Starkville Utilities director Edward Kemp said the steady 30MW load could be favorable for the city-owned utility and help offset future rate increases; the company has committed to follow local noise ordinances, Starkville Mayor Lynn Spruill described a visited mining site as “surprisingly quiet” and “mostly innocuous,” and a Change.org petition (launched June 18) cites concerns including up to 30MW demand and 20,000 gallons of water usage (petition had 11 verified signatures as of publication).
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Operations workforce powers ORNL’s autonomous science future
Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) highlights its Facilities & Operations (F&O) workforce as the team building and maintaining infrastructure that enables more than a dozen AI-driven autonomous (self-driving) laboratories.
- Main announcement: ORNL describes F&O’s role in delivering infrastructure for more than a dozen self-driving labs, managed by nearly 1,300 F&O staff, and advancing the INTERSECT (Interconnected Science Ecosystem) vision; upgrades include a system to connect multiple laboratories into a single control network to support continuous, 24/7 autonomous operations (upgrades are described as being in various stages of completion).
- Background and concrete details: F&O responsibilities include electrical distribution, utilities, high-capacity networking and control systems; specific work cited includes hoisting/rigging heavy robotic equipment, connecting up to eight flowing gas streams, installing wiring and physical networking lines for over 10 pieces of equipment, adapting a fume hood for automated workflows, and constructing custom fixtures and charging stations for mobile robots.
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SpaceXAI to restart work on wastewater treatment facility to serve Memphis data centers by Q1 2027
SpaceXAI has committed to resume construction of its Memphis recycled wastewater treatment facility.
- Main action: SpaceXAI has committed to resuming construction no later than Q1 2027 on the $80 million recycled wastewater treatment facility in Memphis; the plant is planned to recycle 49.2 million liters (13 million gallons) per day and to supply excess water to other businesses, reducing strain on the Memphis Sand Aquifer.
- Background and context: Work began on land acquired from the City of Memphis in September 2025 but stalled in April 2026 after staff were redirected amid SpaceX’s IPO preparations and the February 2026 merge of SpaceX and xAI; Memphis officials (including Mayor Paul Young and MLGW president Doug McGowen) met with SpaceXAI’s Michael Nicoll to secure the commitment.
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DOJ intervenes on behalf of xAI in data center gas turbine lawsuit
The Department of Justice has filed a request to intervene and seek dismissal of the NAACP lawsuit challenging xAI’s use of temporary gas-fired turbines at the Stanton Road site that powers the Colossus 2 data center.
- Main action: DOJ has asked a federal court to intervene and dismiss the NAACP Clean Air Act suit; the Department of Defense (Chief Digital and Artificial Intelligence Officer Cameron Stanley) filed testimony arguing the case implicates U.S. national security, noting xAI’s Colossus 2 trains Grok models used by DOD. The NAACP sued in April, alleges operation of 27 gas turbines totaling 495 MW without an air permit, and requested a preliminary injunction in May.
- Background and context: The Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality said the turbines qualify as mobile sources under the Clean Air Act; DOD cited the Grok Gov Model’s integration into Maven Smart System and use in the Iran war (Operation Epic Fury). Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves wrote to support the project; the Environmental Protection Network criticized DOJ’s intervention as seeking broad executive veto power over citizen enforcement.
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Earth’s Follies Week 70: the murky pool of consequences
Xylb’tok the Martian publishes a satirical opinion column summarising multiple recent Earth events including US military strikes in Venezuela, a paused US-Iran peace/rebuilding deal, and pollution allegations at Elon Musk’s xAI data centre.
- Main announcement/action: The piece reports on recent US military strikes in Venezuela (targets linked to Tren de Aragua), a widely reported US contribution of around $300bn towards rebuilding tied to a Trump-Iran peace settlement (the deal was reported paused due to ongoing conflict and followed shortly by a reported ceasefire). It also highlights allegations that xAI’s data centre in Memphis/North Mississippi is emitting pollution from dozens of gas turbines and that the NAACP has called for federal intervention (and that there is a legal effort to shut down the lawsuit).
- Background and other details: The column is opinion/satire (not a primary announcement); it references reporting from Reuters, The Guardian, BBC, The Independent and AP News, mentions millions in cost overruns and hydrogen-peroxide treatments at the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, and cites calls to invoke the Insurrection Act (reported urging by JD Vance). The piece mixes factual references and satire rather than announcing a new policy directly.
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ORNL researchers showcase AI-driven science at national expo
Oak Ridge National Laboratory had a major presence at the AI+ Expo for National Competitiveness (May 7–9, 2026), presenting national-lab research and demonstrations of AI, high-performance computing, and autonomous laboratory platforms.
Main announcement / action: ORNL researchers presented and demoed AI and HPC advances at the DOE booth during the AI+ Expo (hosted by the Special Competitive Studies Project), including demonstrations of LOOP (AI-driven metal 3D printing), OPAL (Orchestrated Platform for Autonomous Laboratories) for plant phenotyping with exascale inference on Frontier, and presentations on the American Science Cloud as part of DOE’s Genesis Mission (which aims to double the productivity and impact of American science, engineering and R&D within a decade). Event details:
- Date: May 7–9, 2026
- Location: Washington D.C.
- Agenda / subject: AI-driven scientific discovery, energy resilience, national competitiveness, computing infrastructure, and autonomous scientific workflows.
Background / other details: Senior DOE leaders attended (including Secretary Chris Wright and Under Secretary Dario Gil); ORNL stressed converged computing (AI + HPC + quantum + autonomous workflows). UT-Battelle manages ORNL for the DOE Office of Science. Media contact provided: Scott Jones, Communications Manager, Computing and Computational Sciences Directorate; phone 865.241.6491; email JONESG@ORNL.GOV.