A rocket engine to boost the grid.
Big Picture
In the sprint to scale AI, data centers are guzzling more power than the grid can cleanly deliver. So the industry is reaching for the dirtiest quick fix: CO₂-belching natural gas plants. One step forward, two steps back. On top of the emissions, these plants rely on turbines that are already back-ordered for years. That leaves AI growth shackled to fossil supply chains and a small number of old-school manufacturers.
How it Works
A byproduct of fossil fuel power plants, as we know all too well, is hard-to-capture CO₂. Decades of carbon capture development underscore how hard it is to separate carbon from the other gasses in an exhaust stream. Arbor flips the equation. Their next-gen system burns natural gas with supercritical oxygen (i.e. at incredibly high heat and pressure). The output is a pure stream of CO₂ that directly powers a turbine before it’s stored, bringing the system’s overall emissions to zero.
Unfair Advantage
Arbor’s power system is, in fact, rocket science. Arbor’s team of ex-SpaceX turbomachinery and propulsion engineers are bringing techniques from the cutting-edge of rocket design to an out-of-date power system. The team is hyper-focused on manufacturing 3D-printed oxy-combustion turbines ready to supply baseload power turbines right when data centers need them most.
07
Years
existing backlog for gas turbines

BRAD HARTWIG CEO & FOUNDER
Brad has half a decade of experience in engineering complex propulsion systems, at SpaceX, Kitty Hawk, and USC’s Rocket Propulsion Lab.

ANDRES GARCIA-CLARK CTO
Andres was a lead turbomachinery engineer for propulsion at SpaceX for 5 years following 12 years working on GE Turbine modules.
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