New Era Energy & Digital and Primary Digital Infrastructure Join Forces to Develop 1+ Gigawatt Hyperscale Data Center Campus in Texas
New Era Energy & Digital, Inc. (Nasdaq: NUAI), a developer and operator of next-generation digital infrastructure and integrated power assets, has announced a major strategic partnership with Primary Digital Infrastructure, an independent data center investment and development platform. Together, the two companies will co-develop Texas Critical Data Centers (TCDC), a large-scale hyperscale data center campus designed to support the rapidly growing power and compute demands of cloud and artificial intelligence workloads.
Planned at a scale exceeding one gigawatt of total capacity, the TCDC campus will be located in Ector County, Texas, in the heart of the Permian Basin. The site has been selected for its proximity to robust energy resources, favorable economics, and strong infrastructure fundamentals. The partners will co-sponsor the development, combining New Era’s integrated power and energy expertise with Primary Digital Infrastructure’s deep institutional experience in hyperscale data center delivery and capital markets execution.
A Power-Centric Vision for Hyperscale Growth
As global demand for AI-driven computing and cloud services accelerates, hyperscale operators are increasingly prioritizing locations that offer abundant, flexible, and cost-effective power. TCDC is being engineered specifically to meet these evolving requirements. The campus is designed to support both grid-connected and behind-the-meter power generation solutions, offering tenants enhanced reliability, scalability, and long-term energy optionality.
New Era Energy & Digital brings a differentiated approach to the project through its focus on integrating digital infrastructure with power generation assets. Operating in the Permian Basin, one of North America’s most energy-rich regions, the company is uniquely positioned to align large-scale data center development with reliable energy supply. This integrated strategy is expected to provide meaningful advantages to hyperscale tenants seeking predictable power availability in an increasingly constrained market.
The TCDC campus is also being planned with significant future expansion potential. Its modular design and phased development approach allow capacity to be delivered in alignment with tenant demand while preserving the flexibility to scale well beyond the initial buildout. This long-term vision positions the campus as a foundational asset capable of supporting multiple generations of compute-intensive technologies.
Strategic Partnership to De-Risk Execution
According to New Era Energy & Digital, the partnership with Primary Digital Infrastructure represents a pivotal milestone in the company’s growth strategy. Primary Digital will serve as lead capital partner and co-sponsor, bringing a comprehensive execution framework that spans tenant engagement, financing, development, and asset management.
E. Will Gray II, Chief Executive Officer of New Era Energy & Digital, described the partnership as transformational for the company. He emphasized that Primary Digital Infrastructure’s extensive track record in developing global data center portfolios and financing multi-billion-dollar projects provides the institutional expertise required to execute a project of this magnitude. Gray noted that the collaboration materially strengthens the path to completion for TCDC and reinforces confidence in New Era’s ability to deliver durable value for shareholders and stakeholders.
New Era also reaffirmed that it remains on track to secure a hyperscale anchor tenant in line with prior guidance. The addition of Primary Digital Infrastructure is expected to further accelerate tenant discussions by enhancing the project’s credibility with investment-grade customers that demand proven partners, disciplined execution, and long-term financial stability.
Anchored by Institutional Capital and Tenant Relationships
Primary Digital Infrastructure’s role extends beyond capital provision. The firm maintains deep relationships with leading global cloud providers and AI-focused enterprises, positioning it well to attract a hyperscaler anchor tenant for the initial phase of development near Odessa, Texas. These relationships are increasingly critical as hyperscale customers look to partner with developers that can offer not only capacity, but also certainty of delivery and operational excellence.
In parallel, Primary Digital Infrastructure will leverage its capital markets expertise to structure and arrange the complex financing required for a gigawatt-scale development. Projects of this size typically require sophisticated blends of equity, construction financing, and long-term debt, often sourced from institutional investors seeking stable, infrastructure-like returns. Primary Digital’s experience in navigating these markets is expected to systematically de-risk the development from early-stage planning through commercial operation.
Bill Stein, Executive Managing Director and Chief Investment Officer at Primary Digital Infrastructure, highlighted the strategic alignment behind the partnership. He noted that the next wave of hyperscale and AI infrastructure is increasingly being built in regions where power is abundant and economically advantaged. According to Stein, the TCDC project exemplifies this shift and aligns directly with Primary Digital’s strategy of building high-quality, risk-mitigated data center portfolios that are essential to the future digital economy. He added that partnering with a well-capitalized and experienced company like New Era enables the delivery of a hyperscale-ready campus tailored to the needs of investment-grade tenants.
Building on Proven Momentum in Texas
The TCDC announcement builds on Primary Digital Infrastructure’s broader momentum in the U.S. data center market, particularly in Texas. The firm has recently advanced several large-scale initiatives, including its flagship role in the Stargate program. That program includes a previously announced $15 billion joint venture with Crusoe Energy Systems and Blue Owl Capital Corporation (NYSE: OWL) to develop a 1.2-gigawatt AI-focused data center campus in Abilene, Texas.
The Abilene project is among the largest AI-centric data center developments in the United States and has already secured more than $11.6 billion in combined debt and equity financing. This achievement underscores Primary Digital Infrastructure’s ability to attract institutional capital at scale and execute highly complex developments in power-intensive markets. The experience gained through Stargate is expected to directly inform and enhance execution at TCDC.
Positioning for the Next Generation of Digital Infrastructure
For New Era Energy & Digital, TCDC represents a cornerstone development that aligns with its long-term strategy of integrating power and digital infrastructure in energy-advantaged regions. By co-developing with a seasoned institutional partner, the company is positioning itself to compete effectively in the hyperscale market, where scale, reliability, and execution certainty are paramount.
As AI adoption accelerates across industries, demand for hyperscale data centers is expected to remain strong for years to come. Developments like Texas Critical Data Centers, designed from the ground up to address power constraints and scalability challenges, are likely to play a central role in supporting this growth. Through their partnership, New Era Energy & Digital and Primary Digital Infrastructure aim to deliver a strategically located, future-ready campus that meets the evolving needs of the world’s largest digital infrastructure users while creating long-term value for investors and stakeholders alike.
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