A 600MW natural gas-powered data center campus has been proposed for land outside the city of Hubbard, Texas.

New company Nexus Data Centers wants to build the facility on a 2,000-acre site located between Highway 171 and County Road 3369 on the outskirts of Hubbard

As part of the plan, the firm has agreed a deal with AirJoule Technologies, which will see AirJoule’s novel water harvesting system deployed at the campus to extract H2O from the data center’s waste heat.

Nexus out of the cupboard in Hubbard

Plans for the data center were revealed last month, with Nexus holding a public meeting to explain the scheme to Hubbard residents.

The firm is seeking permission to build a 612MW data center campus powered by natural gas turbines, which will operate behind the meter. It has already applied for permission to build the turbines and backup diesel generators.

Who is financing the data center, when it is likely to be up and running, and if an end user has been identified for the facility, have not been revealed. The size of the planned development would suggest the target customer is one of the cloud hyperscalers.

According to local news outlet the Hillsboro Reporter, attendees at the meeting were told the project would create “significant tax revenue”, as well as hundreds of construction and operational jobs.

Little information about Nexus Data Centers is available online. CEO and managing partner Ivan Van der Walt, who addressed the public meeting in Hubbard on behalf of the firm, has a background in the energy industry.

Water harvesting

AirJoule Technologies has revealed that its novel water harvesting technology will be deployed at the campus.

The firm is set to sign an industrial-scale Water Purchase Agreement (WPA) with Nexus.

Under the proposed WPA, AirJoule intends to deploy its systems at the Nexus campus in the second half of 2026.

Waste heat from Nexus’ onsite power generation and data center operations will be used to produce water, which will then be sold to Nexus for use in power generation, cooling systems, and other operational requirements.

AirJoule first announced news of the partnership in June, but didn’t name the data center company involved.

“Identifying Nexus as our AI hyperscale collaborator underscores the progress we’ve made under our June Memorandum of Understanding and our path toward a first deployment of an industrial-scale water purchase agreement,” said Matt Jore, AirJoule Technologies CEO.

“Nexus is constructing one of the largest AI data center campuses in the world, and our continued work together supports validation that AirJoule’s waste-heat-to-water platform can address urgent water security and sustainability needs for data center operators and other industrial customers.”

AirJoule’s system uses a proprietary sorbent, based on a metal-organic framework - subject of the 2025 Nobel Prize in Chemistry - to extract water particles from data center waste heat so that the water can be reused.

The firm was set up as a joint venture between Jore’s firm, formerly known as Montana Technologies, and power technology vendor GE Vernova. In April, the company raised $15 million to help develop its system.

Nexus Data Centers CEO Van der Walt said: “Water sustainability is a critical consideration for data center operators. AirJoule’s waste-heat-to-water approach provides a superior solution by utilizing thermal energy we are already generating to produce high-purity water for electricity production and cooling systems, and the WPA framework aligns well with our financial objectives.”