ADQ and ECP earmark USD 25 bn for powering US data centers: Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund ADQ entered into an agreement with American energy-focused investment firm Energy Capital Partners (ECP) to invest USD 25 bn in powering data centers, according to an ADQ press release. The US is set to see the lion’s share of investment, however the two did not rule out allocating funds for other markets.

The details: The 50-50 partnership will see the companies invest at least USD 25 bn across 25 GW worth of projects, and launch infrastructure projects to generate electricity to power data centers, hyperscale cloud companies, and other industries. The projects will include greenfield developments, new builds, and expansion work, and focus on natural gas-powered plants but would consider lower carbon emission options, ADQ deputy group CFO Hamad Al Hammadi told Bloomberg.

More to come? Funding will come in a USD 5 bn initial capital contribution, with the rest following over five years, Al Hammadi told Bloomberg, adding that further investment was in the cards. A mix of debt and equity would finance the venture, which is aiming to begin dealmaking for projects within a year of starting up, Al Hammadi said.

This isn’t ECP’s first involvement with Emirati firms, having sold a 50% stake in the US’ Terra-Gen Power Holdings to renewables giant Masdar last year.

REMEMBER- The development follows National Security Advisor and ADQ Chairman Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan’s meeting with US President Donald Trump to discuss expanding bilateral ties on AI and tech. We have more from the visit in this morning’s Diplomacy section, below.

The UAE has been ramping up investments in data centers amid economic diversification efforts. Big ticket investments include a USD 20 bn investment for US centers from Damac Properties and a collaboration with France of up to USD 50 bn for a 1 GW data center. This also comes as global power demand from data centers is expected to rise by 165% by the end of the decade, the press release said.

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