Mission Gobi: Envision's Plan for a 5GW Desert Data Campus

The Gobi Desert is one of the most isolated places on the planet. Spanning 1.3 million square kilometres across Mongolia and China, it is the world's sixth largest desert and is known for its harsh climate and nomadic culture.

It may not, then, seem like the logical place to build a data centre, but Envision Energy, the Shanghai-based renewables giant, is about to do just that.

Speaking at VivaTech 2026 in Paris, Envision announced 'Mission Gobi', an initiative that will see the firm develop 5GW of data centre capacity across the desert by the year 2030.

Generally, data centres tend to be located reasonably close to metropolitan areas, with suburban hubs like Slough in the UK or Ashburn in the US being prime examples.

But with the race to power data centres heating up, the sector is increasingly seeing developers build where they can access a reliable supply of energy.

This is the notion that has taken Envision to the Gobi Desert, where conditions are considered excellent for both wind and solar energy.

Through the project, Envision intends to demonstrate how renewable generation, storage and computing infrastructure can be deployed together to support the next phase of AI development while reducing dependence on fossil fuel-powered electricity.

The company will build on the AI Power System technology it has already deployed commercially, integrating clean energy assets directly with high-performance computing facilities.

The potential for renewable energy

With the AI economy growing and such a rapid pace and with pressure on the world's grids always increasing, governments and tech companies are looking for new ways to secure low-carbon power for their data centre projects.

For Envision, addressing these energy challenges means integrating renewable generation, battery storage, grid infrastructure and digital infrastructure into one functional, tight-knit network.

Lei Zhang, the company's Founder and CEO, says that the AI boom is exposing weaknesses in conventional electricity systems.

“The traditional power system was not designed for the scale and speed of the AI era," he suggests.

“Mission Gobi offers a new system-level approach – integrating renewable energy, storage, grid infrastructure and computing to deliver scalable, cost-competitive clean power.

“Building on our successful partnerships in Europe, we believe it can support Europe’s AI growth, energy security and clean energy transition.

“Importantly, Mission Gobi is designed as a replicable blueprint. Developing even 1% of global desert and Gobi regions could support terawatt-scale computing capacity at highly competitive cost, helping accelerate the deployment of AI infrastructure worldwide.”

The company believes that unlocking only a small proportion of the world's desert regions could ultimately support computing capacity on a terawatt scale while delivering electricity at competitive prices.

Proving the model

For Mission Gobi, Envision will build on the blueprint of the renewable-powered facilities it already operates in China.

Its AI data centre in Chifeng, for instance, is described as the world's first to run entirely on directly supplied green electricity, demonstrating that high-density computing workloads can be powered without relying on conventional carbon-intensive grids.

The company is also expanding its footprint through the Envision Galaxy Campus in Ulanqab.

The site is designed as the world's only gigawatt-scale AI data centre powered through directly connected renewable energy, offering a model for combining large-scale clean power generation with digital infrastructure.

Together, these developments illustrate how countries can strengthen energy resilience while expanding AI capacity, reducing pressure on conventional electricity networks as demand continues to climb.

Building an international energy ecosystem

Mission Gobi will be delivered with support from governments, utilities, technology companies, infrastructure investors and regional partners.

By bringing together expertise from across the energy and technology sectors, Envision aims to deploy power systems that are clean, flexible, intelligent and cost-effective for customers around the world.

The company operates across three core business areas: Smart Wind Turbines, Energy Storage and Green Hydrogen Solutions.

Through continued innovation across these technologies, Envision says it is working to lower the cost of renewable energy generation, storage and integration while supporting the long-term transition to a more sustainable global energy system.