As artificial intelligence data centers consume ever-greater amounts of electricity, the hunt for reliable, low-carbon power sources has become one of the most urgent investment themes of 2026. Barclays has named NET Power Inc. (NYSE: NPWR) as one of its key gas power generation picks, citing the company’s unique position at the intersection of surging AI energy demand and next-generation carbon-capture technology. The bank projects that annual AI capital expenditure could surpass $1 trillion before 2028 — and that massive buildout demands equally massive power generation capacity to match.
NET Power operates in a niche that few competitors can match. The company has pivoted from its original proprietary technology toward pairing its system with Siemens gas turbines combined with post-combustion carbon capture from Entropy, which has demonstrated a roughly 90% carbon-capture rate. That combination addresses one of the most acute tensions in the AI energy story: how to deliver large-scale, dispatchable power at scale without blowing past climate commitments. Management confirmed that Project Permian Phase I — targeting 80 megawatts of output — remains on track. A final investment decision is expected in the second half of 2026, with commercial operations targeted for early 2029. The company has also hired a strategic advisor to help secure a long-term power purchase agreement, which would significantly de-risk the revenue outlook and represent the next major catalyst for the stock.
For investors tracking the AI buildout, the energy infrastructure layer is increasingly impossible to ignore. Data center power demand is growing faster than utilities can build conventional capacity, creating a structural gap that companies like NET Power are designed to fill. NPWR is a higher-risk, higher-upside play — the company has no commercial revenue yet, and the path to profitability runs through that 2029 target. But Barclays’ endorsement adds institutional credibility to the thesis. The second-half 2026 final investment decision is the key binary event to watch: a green light would signal real capital backing the project and could move shares sharply. Investors who can tolerate early-stage risk may want to have NPWR on their radar ahead of that catalyst.
