China is building an 800MW AI data center campus in Inner Mongolia that could rival the economics of the US Stargate project, according to a report from SemiAnalysis. Envision has built the first 120MW of the Galaxy campus in less than a year, at a cost researchers put at one-fifth that of comparable US projects.
The Galaxy data center campus, located in Ulanqab, Inner Mongolia, is being developed across four phases for two unnamed internet companies, with the full campus expected to provide up to 800MW of IT capacity by the end of 2027, close to the 820MW of critical IT capacity at the Stargate site in Abilene, Texas.
SemiAnalysis researchers visited the site in September and reported that Envision is taking an unusual approach to power supply, building its own wind farms and battery storage alongside the computing facility. The company has installed more than 100GW of wind turbines and plans for its wind farms to provide over 60% of the electricity for the first two phases. The farms, located about 80 kilometers apart, have a combined capacity of 420MW, well above the 240MW load expected from the first two phases, though wind turbines rarely run at full capacity.
Ulanqab's wind capacity factor is between 35% and 40%, so Envision is adding four-hour battery storage to maintain supply when wind drops. This contrasts with US developers, who are turning to on-site gas turbines to bypass grid constraints, while turbine shortages have pushed some delivery estimates to 2030.
Inside the campus, SemiAnalysis visited a 5MW hall where solid-state transformers (SSTs) take 10kV AC electricity and convert it directly to 800V DC for server racks, a departure from conventional data center power distribution, which typically involves several intermediate conversion stages. Researchers wrote that “Solid-state transformers (SSTs) take 10kV AC from the grid and convert it straight to 800V DC for the racks,” removing low-voltage transformers, uninterruptible power supplies, and rectifiers, potentially reducing equipment requirements and energy losses, though no measured efficiency improvement was provided.
The 5MW installation is a pilot, and Envision plans an even larger deployment in later phases, aligning with Nvidia's push for 800V DC distribution in future high-density AI systems. The campus also uses a cooling arrangement where liquid-cooled and air-cooled servers share a single water loop, eliminating the need for conventional central chiller plants.
Galaxy is the first major project in Envision's wider Inner Mongolia data center plans, which SemiAnalysis says total 3GW. The surrounding Chahar High-tech Zone is expanding rapidly, with nearly 30,000 construction workers on 22 data center projects, according to a local report. Alibaba, Huawei, and ByteDance are also expanding infrastructure in the region, which benefits from relatively cheap electricity, available land, and abundant wind resources.
However, the report notes that access to electricity and buildings does not automatically translate to available AI computing power, as China's access to advanced accelerators remains constrained by US export restrictions limiting its ability to acquire Nvidia's most powerful chips.
Analysis
Why This Matters
- The Galaxy campus challenges US cost assumptions for AI infrastructure, with Chinese developers building at a reported one-fifth the cost, which could shift global competitiveness in AI compute.
- Envision's integration of wind power and battery storage with data centers offers a model for bypassing strained power grids, but may be limited to regions with abundant wind resources and cheap land.
- The project highlights the ongoing tension between China's massive infrastructure buildout and its restricted access to advanced AI chips, potentially creating an imbalance between compute capacity and computing power.
Background
China has been aggressively expanding its AI infrastructure, seeking to match or surpass US capabilities. The US Stargate project in Texas, aimed at providing massive AI computing power, remains a benchmark. Envision is a Chinese clean energy and technology company that manufactures wind turbines and develops energy storage, now applying its expertise to AI data center power supply. US export controls restrict China's access to high-end Nvidia chips, limiting the effective AI compute that can be deployed even in large facilities.
Key Perspectives
- SemiAnalysis (research firm): The Galaxy campus is being built at a fraction of US costs, with innovative power and cooling designs, but China faces constraints in acquiring advanced AI accelerators due to export restrictions.
- Envision (developer): The company is integrating wind farms and battery storage with the data center, aiming for over 60% renewable power for the first phases, and deploying solid-state transformers to improve efficiency.
- US industry context (as reported): US developers face turbine shortages with delivery delays to 2030 and are turning to gas turbines, while some firms like SpaceX are considering manufacturing their own turbine blades.
What to Watch
- Whether Envision scales its SST and cooling designs to the full 800MW campus by 2027, and if measured efficiency gains emerge.
- Any changes to US export controls on advanced chips that could further constrain China's ability to utilize such compute capacity.
- The progress of other major data center projects in Inner Mongolia, including those by Alibaba, Huawei, and ByteDance, and their impact on local power and land resources.
Checked
12 claims in this story checked against 1 source: 10 supported.
Show each claim
- SupportedChina is building an 800MW AI data-centre campus in Inner Mongolia that could challenge the economics of the US Stargate project.Latest from Tom's Hardware: “China is building an 800MW AI data center campus in Inner Mongolia that could challenge the economics of America's Stargate project, according to a new report from SemiAnalysis .”
- SupportedEnvision built the campus’s first 120MW in less than a year.Latest from Tom's Hardware: “Envision has built the first 120 MW of Galaxy AI data center campus in less than a year”
- SupportedResearchers put the cost of the first 120MW at one-fifth that of comparable US projects.Latest from Tom's Hardware: “a cost the researchers put at just one-fifth of comparable US projects”
- SupportedThe completed campus is planned to provide up to 800MW of IT capacity by the end of 2027.Latest from Tom's Hardware: “The completed campus is planned to provide up to 800MW of IT capacity by the end of 2027”
- SupportedThe campus’s planned capacity is close to the approximately 820MW of critical IT capacity at Stargate in Abilene.Latest from Tom's Hardware: “putting it closer to the approximately 820MW of critical IT capacity at the Stargate campus in Abilene, Texas.”
- Partly supportedEnvision’s wind farms have a capacity factor of 35% to 40% in Ulanqab.Latest from Tom's Hardware: “Ulanqab’s wind capacity factor is between 355 and 40%”
- SupportedResearchers quoted: “Solid-state transformers (SSTs) take 10kV AC from the grid and convert it straight to 800V DC for the racks.”Latest from Tom's Hardware: “They explained that “Solid-state transformers (SSTs) take 10kV AC from the grid and convert it straight to 800V DC for the racks.””
- Not in the sourcesThe 5MW installation is a pilot.Latest from Tom's Hardware: “The 5MW installation is only a small part of the campus, but it puts the technology into operation at a live facility.”
- SupportedEnvision has installed more than 100GW of wind turbines.Latest from Tom's Hardware: “So far, the company has installed more than 100GW of wind turbines”
- SupportedEnvision wants its wind farms to provide over 60% of the electricity needed by the campus’s first two phases.Latest from Tom's Hardware: “wants its wind farms to provide over 60% of the electricity needed by the campus’s first two phases.”
- SupportedThe wind farms have a combined capacity of 420MW, above the 240MW load expected from the first two phases.Latest from Tom's Hardware: “Those farms, located about 80 kilometers apart, have a combined capacity of 420MW. That's well above the 240MW load expected from the first two phases”
- SupportedThe campus’s cooling arrangement lets liquid-cooled and air-cooled servers share a water loop, eliminating conventional central chiller plants.Latest from Tom's Hardware: “Galaxy's campus uses a cooling arrangement in which liquid-cooled and air-cooled servers share a single water loop, eliminating the need for conventional central chiller plants.”
