Boom Supersonic jet engines to power AI data center

Boom Supersonic announced on Tuesday that it has a backlog of more than $1.25 billion for its Superpower turbine and that it has finished a $300 million funding round led by Darsana Capital Partners. The Superpower turbine is a 42-megawatt natural gas turbine that will deliver reliable energy to AI data centers. It uses the same technology as the Symphony jet engine, an engine core designed for sustained and efficient high power output even when under challenging conditions. The company states that the Superpower will be providing gigawatts of new capacity while also advancing the development of the Overture airliner through data on the engine's reliability. The Overture is a supersonic airliner that Boom Supersonic claims will fly at supersonic speeds without producing an audible sonic boom, which it calls Boomless Cruise. Boomless Cruise is based on physics known as the Mach cutoff, in which a sonic boom refracts in the atmosphere and never reaches the ground. This was achieved by breaking the sound barrier at a higher altitude, with the exact speeds varying based on the atmospheric conditions.?(the Superpower Turbine) "Supersonic technology is an accelerant—of course for faster flight, but now for artificial intelligence as well," said Founder and CEO, Blake Scholl. "With this financing and our first order for Superpower, Boom is funded to deliver both our engine and our airliner." RELATED STORIES: Executive order to allow supersonic flight over US once again Boom Supersonic announces test site for engine testing Boom flies supersonic without sonic boomThe Superpower does not require water and does not lose generation capacity when it gets hot outside, which is considered an advantage for AI data centers where water is often a constrained resource. It runs on natural gas, but has a backup diesel capability. Crusoe, an energy-first AI infrastructure leader and the launch customer for the turbine, ordered 29 Superpower turbines to power its AI data centers."Boom's innovative approach to power turbine technology builds on the company's impressive breakthroughs in supersonic flight. At Crusoe we are continuously searching for new approaches to increase real-world performance and accelerate time-to-power across our portfolio of energy assets and operations," said Chase Lochmiller, Crusoe co-founder and CEO. "We're proud to be partnering closely with Boom as the launch customer for Superpower, an initiative that aligns perfectly with Crusoe's energy-first approach to building the AI infrastructure of the future." The funding round fully funds Symphony engine development and the revenue from the Superpower will be used to finance certification and delivery of Overture. Boom's Overture order book stands at 130 aircraft, including orders and pre-orders from United Airlines, American Airlines and Japan Airlines.