Centrica and Ceres Target Europe’s Power Gap

A new partnership will deploy solid oxide fuel cells at data centres and industrial sites across the UK and Europe, bypassing slow grid connections

2 May 2026

Centrica and Ceres Power announced a strategic partnership in March 2026 to deploy solid oxide fuel cell systems for on-site power generation across the United Kingdom and Europe, targeting the mounting energy demand at data centres, AI compute hubs, advanced manufacturing facilities, and logistics parks where grid connections have become a bottleneck.

Grid delays are forcing industrial operators to seek alternatives. Chris O’Shea, chief executive of Centrica, said businesses need more power and need it faster than electricity grids can deliver. The partnership combines Centrica’s energy supply, trading, and project services with Ceres’ solid oxide fuel cell technology, which achieves high electrical efficiency and operates with relatively low noise levels compared with gas turbines.

Ceres’ cells currently run on natural gas but are designed to transition to biogas and hydrogen as those fuels become more widely available. Centrica will manage the full project lifecycle, from commissioning through remote monitoring, predictive maintenance, and end-of-life recycling. Deployment timelines for fuel cell systems are significantly shorter than for gas turbines or new nuclear capacity.

April brought further activity. Ceres launched the Endura, a 10.8-kilowatt solid oxide stack aimed at power-intensive data centres, while Delta Electronics joined an infrastructure partnership with Centrica to supply off-grid fuel cell generation across the same markets. Delta was already a Ceres manufacturing licensee, deepening an established commercial relationship.

The arrangement reflects a broader reorientation in European fuel cell strategy. Transport adoption has advanced more slowly than many predicted, and firms are redirecting solid oxide technology toward stationary power, where grid constraints have created a near-term commercial opening. The results could shape the competitive landscape for industrial energy supply in the years ahead.