At VivaTech 2026 in Paris, Envision announced Mission Gobi, a global initiative to develop 5GW of green AI data center capacity in desert regions by 2030. The plan addresses a growing problem: AI's energy demands are straining power grids designed for a different era.
Addressing AI's energy bottleneck
Lei Zhang said the traditional power system was not built for the speed and scale of AI. "The traditional power system was not designed for the scale and speed of the AI era," he said. "Mission Gobi offers a new system-level approach - integrating renewable energy, storage, grid infrastructure and computing to deliver scalable, cost-competitive clean power. Building on our successful partnerships in Europe, we believe it can support Europe's AI growth, energy security and clean energy transition."
Envision's approach treats AI infrastructure and energy as a single system rather than separate domains. The company already deploys AI Power Systems that combine renewables, storage, and computing in one integrated design.
A replicable model for global deployment
Envision sees desert and Gobi regions as underutilized assets. "Developing even 1% of global desert and Gobi regions could support terawatt-scale computing capacity at highly competitive cost, helping accelerate the deployment of AI infrastructure worldwide," Lei Zhang said. Through Mission Gobi, the company will work with governments, utilities, technology firms, infrastructure investors, and local partners to replicate the model.
Early deployments prove the concept
Envision already runs the world's first AI data center on direct green power in Chifeng, China. It is also building the Envision Galaxy Campus in Ulanqab, a gigawatt-scale AI data center entirely powered by directly connected renewables. These projects form the foundation for Mission Gobi's larger 5GW target.
Why this matters for IT, science, and government professionals
For IT and development teams, the initiative highlights the growing link between energy architecture and AI infrastructure planning. The push for renewable-powered data centers aligns with broader trends in AI for IT & Development, where power efficiency directly impacts performance and cost. Scientists and researchers working on large-scale models can expect energy constraints to shape hardware and deployment strategies. Government energy and technology policymakers face pressure to reconcile AI growth with energy security and climate goals.
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