The partners plan to support data centre, power generation and transmission infrastructure projects to accelerate AI model training and inference at scale.
The pair plan to work with utilities, power and data centre developers as well as power producers to support data centre sites used by hyperscalers.
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“Data centre power demand is expected to grow by 160% by 2030, a demand that will go unmet without the right infrastructure in place, which is critical to boosting productivity, supporting electrification and helping countries create a competitive edge in AI,” said Joe Bae, co-CEO at KKR.
“At the same time, the scaling of this mission-critical infrastructure must be done affordably, reliably, and sustainably, while addressing the needs of all stakeholders — from technology companies to end consumers.”
The investment firms suggested that US data centre demand alone is set to almost triple by 2030, driving over $1 trillion in investments.
The pair claimed that a single 1GW facility requires at least $15 billion to support hardware and power equipment — with limited availability of reliable power impacting operators’ strategic goals.
KKR and ECP have joined forces to provide substantial financial clout to help data centre operators meet their power demands. The partnership aims to leverage KKR’s expertise in digital infrastructure, power, and the energy value chain with ECP’s energy transition platform in electrification, power, and renewable generation.
"In order for the US to maintain its advantage in AI, we will need massive new investments in power infrastructure on an accelerated basis that are capable of addressing concerns related to electricity prices and carbon emissions,” said Doug Kimmelman, founder and senior partner at ECP.
KKR will fund strategic partnerships from existing infrastructure and real estate strategies and insurance accounts, while ECP will fund from existing and future infrastructure capital pools.
KKR has already invested more than $29 billion across 22 investments in relevant digital infrastructure companies across data centres and fibre, as well as $15 billion in power, utilities, and energy.
ECP, meanwhile, owns and operates more than 83 GW of power generation across major US power markets, including natural gas, geothermal, hydro, solar, wind, battery storage, and waste-to-energy.
“We are committed to delivering solutions for our strategic partners and our investors through ECP’s strong utility relationships and expertise investing across a wide variety of power generation, renewable, and battery storage assets,” Kimmelman added.
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