IDF and Oaktree Invest $1.7 Billion to Back Bloom Energy Fuel Cells at Nebius AI Data Centers

A $1.7 billion investment from private credit platform Industrial Development Funding (IDF) and Oaktree Capital Management will support Bloom Energy in deploying its solid oxide fuel cell systems across Nebius’ AI cloud data centers in the United States. The deal marks a significant step in financing behind-the-meter power for artificial intelligence infrastructure, a sector that is straining existing grid capacity.

The investment follows an offtake agreement signed in May between Nebius and Bloom Energy, under which Bloom will supply dedicated, behind-the-meter power for Nebius’ AI data center buildout in the U.S. Nebius selected Bloom primarily for its speed to power, clean technology, and ability to meet the performance and availability demands of AI workloads. IDF is acting as the lead developer on the project, with Oaktree taking a minority equity stake.

“By bringing together institutional capital and critical power infrastructure, IDF and Bloom are unlocking the next generation of energy solutions and are proud to help Nebius meet the energy demands of the AI economy,” said Nik Nunes, CEO of IDF. Austin Pearson, managing director at Oaktree, added: “Oaktree is focused on investing in infrastructure assets delivering critical power to the digital space. This transaction reflects our confidence in Bloom’s fuel cell technology and those relying on it.”

The transaction extends an existing partnership between IDF and Bloom Energy, which now exceeds $2.6 billion across multiple projects. Morgan Stanley served as the sole tax equity investor and placement agent for the tax equity financing, while MUFG Bank provided the senior debt financing. Bloom’s solid oxide fuel cells convert fuel into electricity through an electrochemical reaction rather than combustion, a process the company says delivers higher efficiency and lower emissions compared to conventional power generation.

“AI infrastructure customers need more than innovative technology. They also need a path to finance and deploy power rapidly,” said Aman Joshi, chief commercial officer of Bloom Energy. “Our collaboration with IDF demonstrates how institutional capital can help accelerate the build-out of AI infrastructure.” The deal underscores a broader trend of institutional investors moving to finance dedicated power solutions for data centers, as hyperscale and AI workloads increasingly require reliable, on-site generation to bypass grid constraints.

Bloom has been expanding its footprint in the data center industry. Earlier this year, it expanded an agreement with Oracle to supply up to 2.8 gigawatts of capacity, building on an initial 1.2-gigawatt deal signed last year. Deployments under that agreement are underway and expected to continue into next year. Bloom has also signed deals with Equinix for deployments across 19 data centers totaling more than 100 megawatts, and with U.S. utility American Electric Power for up to 1 gigawatt of solid oxide fuel cells to power AI data centers off-grid.