Decentralized power supply for AI data centers is currently one of the hottest themes in the market, and the relevant stocks have been moving rapidly higher. In fuel cells,
$BE is the clear market leader, while
$FCEL and Ceres Power are trying to position themselves as alternatives.
On the combustion side, the situation is different: the major gas turbine manufacturers such as GE Vernova, Siemens Energy, and Mitsubishi Power are effectively sold out, with multi year backlogs extending well into the second half of the 2020s.
The obvious alternative is gas engines, where several established players are active, including
$CAT, Wärtsilä, INNIO and its Jenbacher platform, Cummins, and 2G Energy.
One advantage of gas engine solutions over fuel cells receives far too little attention in the current debate: they are dispatchable and therefore combine naturally with solar power. The engine ramps up when solar generation falls away. Fuel cells cannot do this. They are fundamentally baseload assets and do not tolerate rapid load changes or frequent start stop cycles.
This matters more for AI workloads than many investors realize.
Pure baseload power is primarily needed during full scale training runs, and even there, workloads create second by second load transients. Inference is even more dynamic because it follows user demand and therefore exhibits a clear daily utilization profile. This is exactly where dispatchable gas engines excel, especially when paired with a modest battery energy storage system.
Some of these engines can already operate on hydrogen, further strengthening their long term relevance.
The downside relative to fuel cells is clear: lower efficiency and higher emissions because fuel is combusted.
There is one particularly interesting German company in this space that already has a strong position in decentralized energy infrastructure for the energy transition through combined heat and power systems, biogas solutions, and large scale heat pumps: 2G Energy $2GB.DE
According to management, the company is currently close to signing several US data center contracts in the high double digit to low triple digit megawatt range, with each individual order potentially worth up to €100 million.
That is highly meaningful for a company currently guiding for €440-490 million in annual revenue. For larger competitors, deals of this size would barely move the needle.
The stock is already up roughly 50% ytd. That is not insignificant, and on absolute numbers it is not cheap. But relative to peers it still looks highly attractive:
P/S 2026e of approximately 2.1x
EV/EBIT 2026e of roughly 22x
EV/EBIT 2027e of roughly 18x
Compare that to
$BE at roughly 11 to 13x forward sales, or GE Vernova with a market cap near $293 billion and a forward earnings multiple around 32x.
Based on its current business alone, 2G is not cheap.
But the data center optionality is still not reflected in the valuation.
The concrete advantages of 2G’s solutions include:
Standardized modular units manufactured in house and deliverable within roughly 9 to 18 months. This is the critical advantage while turbine supply remains constrained.
The Gas2Power platform covers backup power, prime power, and grid services, with full load step capability within 10 seconds. This makes it ideal for pairing with solar generation.
The waste heat can be used for absorption cooling, directly supporting data center thermal management.
Approximately 55 dB(A) at 10 meters, which materially improves permitting prospects for sensitive sites.
What makes the business model especially compelling is its focus on high margin recurring service revenue.
A triple digit megawatt installed base generates maintenance and service revenue over more than a decade. That recurring stream is the real compounding engine behind what initially appears to be a one time equipment sale.
For investors looking at decentralized AI infrastructure power, this company is worth a look.