A Startup Wants to Power Data Centers With ‘Supercritical’ Carbon Dioxide
It wants to retrofit inefficient gas turbines that many data centers rely on for power with units that can generate more power, without adding more emissions (though the gas-fired turbines will continue to emit carbon pollution). But for a variety of reasons, data centers across the US have opted to power their operations with what are known as simple-cycle turbines, and exclude the steam component.These turbines are much less efficient than combined-cycle plants. Carbon dioxide becomes supercritical when it’s pressurized and held at a certain temperature.
- ▪It wants to retrofit inefficient gas turbines that many data centers rely on for power with units that can generate more power, without adding more emissions (though the gas-fired turbines will continue to emit carbon pollution).
- ▪But for a variety of reasons, data centers across the US have opted to power their operations with what are known as simple-cycle turbines, and exclude the steam component.These turbines are much less efficient than combined-cycle plants.
- ▪Carbon dioxide becomes supercritical when it’s pressurized and held at a certain temperature.
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| Original publisher | WIRED |
| Canonical URL | https://www.wired.com/story/startup-power-data-centers-supercritical-co2/ |
| Publication time | Wed, 23 Sep 2026 11:00:00 +0000 |
| Retrieval time | 2026-09-23T11:04:30.466Z |
| Last seen | 2026-09-23T11:04:30.466Z |
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| Citation coverage | Summary is a WeSearch-generated derivative; primary citation is the original publisher URL. |
| Cluster | GrntspmQ5-0v · 1 stories |
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| Publisher visit | Yes — open original |
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| Retrieval / RAG | May the content be exposed for third-party retrieval-augmented generation? | Not asserted |
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| Commercial reuse | May the content be reused commercially? | Not permitted |
Basis: Derived from the published RSS/Atom feed. Contact: [email protected]. Reviewed: 2026-07-24.
Opening excerpt (first ~120 words) tap to expand
Molly TaftScienceSep 23, 2026 7:00 AMA Startup Wants to Power Data Centers With ‘Supercritical’ Carbon DioxideThe technology could strap onto existing gas turbines and make them more efficient—but it wouldn’t do away with their emissions entirely.Photo-Illustration: Wired Staff; Getty ImagesCommentLoaderSave StorySave this storyCommentLoaderSave StorySave this storyA new company has a plan to make the dirty gas turbines powering data centers more efficient: liquid carbon dioxide.American Supercritical came out of stealth Wednesday, announcing $8 million in funding.
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Excerpt limited to ~120 words for fair-use compliance. The full article is at WIRED.
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