Cummins Inc. (NYSE: CMI) announced Tuesday that its Power Generation business will supply battery energy storage systems for a large U.S. data center project. This marks the company's largest battery energy storage system (BESS) deployment to date and expands its role in powering AI-focused data centers.
The BESS will help the data center handle rapid swings in electricity demand from AI workloads. The system can quickly charge or discharge to reduce demand spikes, improve power quality, and stabilize the load at the utility connection point.
"This project is an important achievement for Cummins and reflects the confidence customers place in our ability to deliver innovative energy solutions at scale," said Jenny Bush, president of Cummins' Power Systems business.
Cummins launched its BESS solutions in May 2025. Since then, energy storage has become increasingly critical for data center developers facing grid constraints, longer interconnection queues, and rising energy costs. The systems can also work alongside diesel and natural gas generators or as part of a larger microgrid, and they can provide temporary power while developers wait for permanent utility connections.
Cummins' BESS platform offers 5 megawatt-hours of nominal capacity, using lithium iron phosphate batteries with liquid cooling. The company designed it specifically for hyperscale and AI data center workloads.
"From bridge-to-grid applications and peak demand management to long-term resiliency, BESS gives data center operators greater flexibility to deploy, optimize and scale their power infrastructure," Bush added.
On the stock side, Cummins shares fell more than 3% Tuesday as investors pulled back from industrial and technology stocks. The Industrials sector dropped 1.1%, while the Nasdaq fell 1.6% and the S&P 500 declined 0.6%. Cummins underperformed its sector, though the stock remains up nearly 55% over the past 12 months. It was trading below its 20-day and 50-day moving averages but stayed above its 200-day moving average.
CMI Price Action: Cummins shares were down 3.16% at $620.92 at the time of publication Tuesday, according to market data.
