Nocera-INERGX joint venture targets AI data centre power supply

Nasdaq-listed Nocera (NCRA) and UK-incorporated INERGX Energy Optimisation have signed a binding term sheet to establish Nocera-INERGX Energy Ventures, a 50/50 joint venture mandated to acquire and consolidate energy supply chain businesses. The vehicle will pursue battery energy storage systems (BESS), AI-enabled energy management platforms, power electronics, distributed energy infrastructure and direct infrastructure ownership across AI data centres, defence, mining and heavy industry.

The joint venture follows a July equity investment through which Nocera took a shareholding in INERGX, and a separate acquisition of a 30% controlling interest in Taiwan-based memory and storage firm QMAX Technology. Nocera describes the two deals as complementary: the QMAX stake secures access to compute-layer components, while the joint venture targets the power infrastructure those components run on.

Deal structure and valuation targets

Nocera will bear the formation costs and handle corporate administration, tax reporting and governance for the joint venture entity. INERGX, or a designated affiliate, will act as asset manager for day-to-day operations under a market-rate services agreement. Each party retains equal governance rights and 50% economic participation, though the definitive joint venture agreement, which must be executed within 90 days of the term sheet, may allow different economic splits on individual transactions.

The release ascribes a current minimum valuation of $65 million to INERGX, pending an independent valuation process that has not yet concluded. The parties have set a stated objective of growing INERGX to a $250 million valuation, though Nocera explicitly notes this figure is a target and not a realised or independently confirmed value.

Andy Jin, chief executive of Nocera, said the joint venture gives both companies "a single, jointly owned vehicle to go acquire the technologies, the manufacturers and the projects that make an integrated energy platform genuinely defensible." INERGX co-founder Dominic White said the arrangement changes the pace at which the partnership can pursue acquisitions across defence, mining, data centres and infrastructure.

Market context and competitive positioning

The market backdrop is significant. According to MarketsandMarkets figures cited in the release, the global BESS market stood at roughly $50.8 billion in 2025 and is projected to reach $106 billion by 2030, implying a compound annual growth rate of around 15.8%. That growth is being pulled by grid-scale deployment, industrial electrification and the power demands of hyperscale and AI compute facilities.

Power availability has emerged as one of the most acute bottlenecks in AI infrastructure build-out, with hyperscalers and co-location providers competing for grid capacity across the US, Europe and parts of Asia. Several well-capitalised energy storage and power electronics businesses are already active in this space, including established industrial conglomerates and specialist BESS integrators. A buy-and-build strategy through a small-cap public vehicle is a less conventional route to scale in the sector, and execution risk is meaningful given that the joint venture has not yet signed a definitive agreement, completed any acquisitions, or received all required Nasdaq and SEC approvals.

Geographically, the joint venture targets Europe, the Middle East and Africa, the United States and Asia, markets where grid constraints and sovereign energy security concerns are running in parallel with AI infrastructure demand. For investors, the near-term milestones to watch are execution of the definitive joint venture agreement, completion of the independent INERGX valuation, and announcement of a first acquisition target with disclosed terms.