Crusoe and Lancium Announce 1-GW AI Data Center Campus in Childress, Texas
CHILDRESS, Texas — Crusoe and Lancium announced Tuesday a 1.0 gigawatt AI data center campus in Childress, Texas, marking the second major site where the two companies are executing a shared development model that divides land ownership and energy management from data center design and operations.
The grid-connected campus will span 270 acres in Childress, with Lancium owning the land and managing the site's energy infrastructure. Crusoe will design, build, and operate the data center itself. Construction is expected to begin in the third quarter of 2026.
A Proven Partnership Model Moves to a New Market
The Childress announcement follows the trajectory of the companies' collaboration in Abilene, where Crusoe broke ground in June 2024 on a Lancium-owned campus and energized its first two buildings within approximately one year. That campus has since expanded to 1.2 GW. Crusoe has also announced a second 900 MW data center on adjacent Lancium-owned land in Abilene.
The Childress campus is purpose-built to support the advanced AI computational requirements of a leading hyperscale technology company, according to the announcement. At full scale, the site is designed to support the deployment of hundreds of thousands of advanced AI accelerators for training or inference workloads.
"This campus represents a major milestone in Crusoe's deep commitment to the state of Texas," said Chase Lochmiller, Co-founder and CEO of Crusoe. "Working with Lancium again, in the same partnership model we built together in Abilene, made Childress an easy choice for our next site. This is more than a data center to us — it's our long-term commitment to this community, and we're proud to be building that future here in Childress."
Michael McNamara, CEO of Lancium, echoed that framing. "Childress is a natural next step in our partnership with Crusoe," McNamara said. "Crusoe has been a great partner to build alongside in Abilene, and we're glad to bring that same model — and the jobs and investment that come with it — to the community of Childress."
Campus Infrastructure and Sustainability Features
The Childress campus will incorporate behind-the-meter solar and energy storage resources, which the companies say will enhance grid reliability, energy efficiency, and sustainability. The site will also feature a closed-loop, non-evaporative liquid cooling system designed to optimize water efficiency.
Lancium, founded in 2017 and headquartered in The Woodlands, Texas, describes itself as an energy technology and infrastructure company that designs, develops, and operates gigawatt-scale campuses integrating grid interconnects, behind-the-meter generation, and storage resources. The company's role at Childress mirrors its structure at Abilene: securing the power interconnect and managing energy orchestration while Crusoe handles the data center layer.
Local Economic Impact
The companies said the Childress development is expected to create thousands of construction jobs and more than 100 long-term permanent positions in Childress County. Beyond direct employment, Lancium and Crusoe said they plan to invest directly in local water and civil infrastructure and support the community in areas including housing, education, and emergency and public services.
About the Companies
Lancium is an energy technology and infrastructure company headquartered in The Woodlands, Texas. The company designs, develops, and operates gigawatt-scale campuses that integrate grid interconnects, behind-the-meter generation, and storage resources to deliver power for large-scale computing workloads.
Crusoe is an AI infrastructure provider that builds and operates AI-optimized data centers and delivers an AI cloud platform. The company describes its mission as accelerating the availability of energy and intelligence for AI workloads.
Media contact: media@crusoe.ai