JERA, Dell and RHAELM Plan $15B 400MW AI Data Center in Chiba

JERA, Japan's largest power producer, Dell Technologies and UK-based RHAELM signed a memorandum of understanding on October 1 to build a 400-megawatt hyperscale AI data center on land next to JERA's Chiba thermal power station, with capital deployment exceeding US$15 billion (2.3 trillion yen), the Financial Times reported.

JERA will supply up to 400 MW under a 15- to 25-year agreement, drawing behind-the-meter from the adjacent gas plant rather than queuing for a grid interconnection. RHAELM will develop, construct, operate and finance the site; Dell will provide standardized, rack-scale AI infrastructure. The companies aim to begin operating in phases in 2028 and reach the full 400 MW in 2029.

"JERA is uniquely positioned to power Japan's AI ambitions. We already generate one third of Japan's electricity," Yukio Kani, JERA's Global CEO and Chair, said in the announcement. Arthur Lewis, President of Dell's Infrastructure Solutions Group, framed the MoU as "a foundation built for control, flexibility and growth from day one."

The partners describe Chiba as the first run of a "standardized, repeatable, scalable framework" they want to use to build "multi-gigawatt-scale AI infrastructure capacity" in the 2030s. Apollo Global Management is listed as RHAELM's strategic investment and financial partner, with Eiji Ueda, Partner and Head of Asia Pacific, representing the firm. It fits a run of power-constrained AI buildouts across our infrastructure tracker, which has logged 443 stories in the last 90 days.

"RHAELM was built to solve exactly this kind of challenge taking stranded power capacity and turning it sovereign AI infrastructure," said Bradd Lewis, RHAELM's CEO and Chief Revenue Officer.