{"success":true,"data":{"pressRelease":{"id":"133013","rtpr_id":"nBw9Xj57fa","ticker":"NRGV","exchange":"NYSE","all_tickers":["NRGV"],"title":"Energy Vault’s 100 MW AI Infrastructure Project in Sardinia Receives Italian Government Designation as Project of Pre-Eminent National Strategic Interest","author":"Business Wire","published_at":"2026-09-01T17:07:00.085Z","article_body":"Energy Vault’s 100 MW AI Infrastructure Project in Sardinia Receives Italian\nGovernment Designation as Project of Pre-Eminent National Strategic Interest\n\nProposed by the Minister of Enterprise, Made in Italy and with the support of\nthe Autonomous Region of Sardinia, the Council of Minister’s designation\nrepresents a major development milestone and establishes an accelerated\nadministrative approval pathway for the investment program and “time to\npower”\n\nDigital Vault Sulcis, the government-designated program, includes an initial\nAI data center of ~30 MW over the next 24 months, integrated with renewable\nenergy generation and storage, within a broader campus designed for phased\nexpansion to 100 MW+ of total power capacity\n\nDigital Vault Sulcis extends Energy Vault’s Build, Own & Operate\nstrategy into next-generation AI infrastructure in Europe, combining powered\nland, energy infrastructure and AI compute capacity with strong and recurring\nexpected cash flows over the long term\n\nEnergy Vault Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: NRGV) (“Energy Vault” or the\n“Company”), a global energy infrastructure company supporting grid\nreliability and next-generation AI and high-performance computing\ninfrastructure, today announced that the Italian Council of Ministers has\ndesignated the Digital Vault Sulcis investment program as being of pre-eminent\nnational strategic interest\n(https://cts.businesswire.com/ct/CT?id=smartlink&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.mimit.gov.it%2Fit%2Fnotizie-stampa%2Fdata-center-ok-cdm-a-strategicita-per-due-investimenti-in-lombardia-e-sardegna-per-6-8-mld&esheet=54597370&newsitemid=20260901616787&lan=en-US&anchor=pre-eminent+national+strategic+interest&index=1&md5=5beeb134eaa91f0e2ad2b6f4466aa5f5)\n, on the proposal of Minister of Enterprises and Made in Italy Adolfo Urso,\nand with the support of the President of the Autonomous Region of Sardinia,\nAlessandra Todde.\n\nThe designation represents a significant development milestone for Digital\nVault Sulcis, recognizing its strategic importance to Italy’s digital\ninfrastructure and industrial development while providing an accelerated\npathway through the remaining administrative and authorization process.\nFollowing the Council of Ministers’ decision, a special Government\nCommissioner is expected to be appointed, in coordination with the relevant\nregional authorities, to coordinate administrative activities and support\naccelerated implementation of the program, including the path toward the\nrequired single authorization.\n\nThe government-designated program includes an Edge AI data center of up to\napproximately 30 MW, integrated with renewable energy generation and storage\ninfrastructure at the Carbosulcis former coal mining complex in Nuraxi Figus,\nSardinia. Energy Vault’s broader Digital Vault Sulcis master plan is\ndesigned for phased expansion, beginning with approximately 30 MW of\nAI-focused IT capacity and scaling over time toward approximately 50–60 MW\nof IT capacity and up to 100 MW of total site power capacity.\n\nThe national strategic designation builds on the progress Energy Vault has\nmade over the past year across site development, land rights, engineering,\ngrid interconnection, commercial engagement and project planning. Together,\nthese milestones continue to reduce development risk and advance the project\ntoward construction. Energy Vault is currently targeting construction to begin\nby 2028, with commercial operations expected by 2030, subject to final\napprovals and remaining development milestones.\n\n“The designation of Digital Vault Sulcis as a program of pre-eminent\nnational strategic interest is an important milestone for the project and a\nmeaningful step forward in our European AI infrastructure strategy,” said\nMarco Terrzzuin, Chief Revenue Officer, of Energy Vault. “It recognizes the\nstrategic role this infrastructure can play for Italy while creating a more\ncoordinated pathway through the remaining development and authorization\nprocess.”\n\nLuca Manzella VP of Business Development, of Energy Vault continued,\n“Digital Vault Sulcis is also a strong example of how our Build, Own &\nOperate model is expanding beyond energy storage into powered AI\ninfrastructure. We are bringing together land, power, energy storage, digital\ninfrastructure and long-term asset ownership to develop critical\ninfrastructure at scale. With the progress achieved to date and the support of\nthe Italian Government and the Autonomous Region of Sardinia, we are\ncontinuing to systematically de-risk the project and move it toward\nconstruction and long-term commercial operation.”\n\nDigital Vault Sulcis represents the evolution of Energy Vault’s previously\nannounced development at the former Nuraxi Figus mining complex. Since the\nCompany and Carbosulcis began working together to redevelop the site as a\nnext-generation technology and energy hub, the project vision has expanded to\naddress growing demand for AI compute capacity, resilient energy\ninfrastructure and greater digital sovereignty.\n\nThe project is expected to serve as Energy Vault’s flagship AI\ninfrastructure campus in Europe, combining powered land, resilient energy\ninfrastructure, advanced energy management and modular AI data center\ncapacity. The development is designed to support Italy’s objectives around\ndigital sovereignty, artificial intelligence and investment in advanced\ntechnology infrastructure, while contributing to the long-term industrial\nredevelopment of the Sulcis region. The Italian Government has identified\nstrengthening national digital sovereignty, supporting AI development and\nattracting high-technology investment as objectives of its strategic data\ncenter program.\n\nDigital Vault Sulcis also demonstrates the broader evolution of Energy\nVault’s infrastructure platform. Building on the Company’s experience\ndeveloping, building, owning and operating energy assets, Energy Vault is\nextending its capabilities into AI infrastructure where access to powered\nland, resilient energy systems and development execution are increasingly\ncritical to bringing new compute capacity online.\n\nThe Company will continue to work closely with the Italian Government, the\nAutonomous Region of Sardinia, Carbosulcis and other stakeholders as Digital\nVault Sulcis progresses through its next development and authorization\nmilestones.\n\nAbout Energy Vault\n\nEnergy Vault® is an integrated power infrastructure platform that builds,\nowns and operates flexible, reliable energy systems to accelerate\ntime-to-power for utilities, independent power producers, industrial customers\nand the AI and data center market. At the core of its platform is a\ntechnology-agnostic, software-enabled architecture that is designed to\naccelerate project delivery, optimize performance and drive faster\ntime-to-revenue. Energy Vault’s integrated solutions combine energy storage,\ngeneration and advanced energy management to deliver scalable infrastructure\ntailored to customer needs. Its portfolio spans short-, long- and multi-day\nduration storage, enabling reliability, flexibility and cost efficiency across\napplications. For utilities and grid operators, Energy Vault provides firm,\nflexible capacity enhances grid stability and helps to ensure reliable power\ndelivery. For industrial and data center customers, the platform enables\nresilient, cost-efficient power supply to support critical operations. Through\nits Build, Own & Operate model, Energy Vault generates long-term,\nrecurring revenues while delivering project execution excellence across\ndevelopment, delivery and operations. By combining innovation with disciplined\nexecution, Energy Vault is redefining how power infrastructure is developed\nand deployed – delivering reliability, flexibility and scale in a rapidly\nevolving global energy market. Please visit www.energyvault.com\n(https://cts.businesswire.com/ct/CT?id=smartlink&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.energyvault.com&esheet=54597370&newsitemid=20260901616787&lan=en-US&anchor=www.energyvault.com&index=2&md5=d03e6fa7858becee3d813c825bd13bda)\nfor additional information.\n\nForward-Looking Statements\n\nThis press release includes forward-looking statements that reflect the\nCompany's current views with respect to, among other things, the Company's\noperations and financial performance. Forward-looking statements include\ninformation concerning possible or assumed future results of operations,\nincluding descriptions of our business plan and strategies. These statements\noften include words such as “anticipate,” “expect,” “contemplate,”\n“continue,” “plan,” “potential,” “predict,” “believe,”\n“intend,” “project,” “forecast,” “estimate,” “target,”\n“should,” “could,” “would,” “may,” “might,” “will” and\nother similar expressions. These forward-looking statements are based on our\ncurrent expectations, plans and assumptions and involve significant risks and\nuncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially, including\nthe uncertainty of our developed pipeline equating to future revenue, the lack\nof assurance that projects will reach commercial operation in the anticipated\ntimeframe or at all, and other important factors discussed under the caption\n“Risk Factors” in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended\nDecember 31, 2025, filed with the SEC on March 18, 2026, as such factors may\nbe updated from time to time in our other filings with the SEC, accessible at\nwww.sec.gov\n(https://cts.businesswire.com/ct/CT?id=smartlink&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.sec.gov&esheet=54597370&newsitemid=20260901616787&lan=en-US&anchor=www.sec.gov&index=3&md5=15ef7c99dff9786814905e4da14a53cd)\n. We undertake no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking\nstatement, except as required by law. You should not place undue reliance on\nour forward-looking statements.\n\n\n\nView source version on businesswire.com:\nhttps://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260901616787/en/\n(https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260901616787/en/)\n\nInvestors: \n\nenergyvaultIR@icrinc.com (mailto:energyvaultIR@icrinc.com)\n\nMedia: \n\nmedia@energyvault.com (mailto:media@energyvault.com)\n\n\nCopyright Business Wire 2026","article_body_html":"","raw_payload":{"data":{"id":"nBw9Xj57fa","title":"Energy Vault’s 100 MW AI Infrastructure Project in Sardinia Receives Italian Government Designation as Project of Pre-Eminent National Strategic Interest","author":"Business Wire","ticker":"NRGV","created":"2026-09-01T17:07:00.085Z","tickers":["NRGV"],"exchange":"NYSE","article_body":"Energy Vault’s 100 MW AI Infrastructure Project in Sardinia Receives Italian\nGovernment Designation as Project of Pre-Eminent National Strategic Interest\n\nProposed by the Minister of Enterprise, Made in Italy and with the support of\nthe Autonomous Region of Sardinia, the Council of Minister’s designation\nrepresents a major development milestone and establishes an accelerated\nadministrative approval pathway for the investment program and “time to\npower”\n\nDigital Vault Sulcis, the government-designated program, includes an initial\nAI data center of ~30 MW over the next 24 months, integrated with renewable\nenergy generation and storage, within a broader campus designed for phased\nexpansion to 100 MW+ of total power capacity\n\nDigital Vault Sulcis extends Energy Vault’s Build, Own & Operate\nstrategy into next-generation AI infrastructure in Europe, combining powered\nland, energy infrastructure and AI compute capacity with strong and recurring\nexpected cash flows over the long term\n\nEnergy Vault Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: NRGV) (“Energy Vault” or the\n“Company”), a global energy infrastructure company supporting grid\nreliability and next-generation AI and high-performance computing\ninfrastructure, today announced that the Italian Council of Ministers has\ndesignated the Digital Vault Sulcis investment program as being of pre-eminent\nnational strategic interest\n(https://cts.businesswire.com/ct/CT?id=smartlink&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.mimit.gov.it%2Fit%2Fnotizie-stampa%2Fdata-center-ok-cdm-a-strategicita-per-due-investimenti-in-lombardia-e-sardegna-per-6-8-mld&esheet=54597370&newsitemid=20260901616787&lan=en-US&anchor=pre-eminent+national+strategic+interest&index=1&md5=5beeb134eaa91f0e2ad2b6f4466aa5f5)\n, on the proposal of Minister of Enterprises and Made in Italy Adolfo Urso,\nand with the support of the President of the Autonomous Region of Sardinia,\nAlessandra Todde.\n\nThe designation represents a significant development milestone for Digital\nVault Sulcis, recognizing its strategic importance to Italy’s digital\ninfrastructure and industrial development while providing an accelerated\npathway through the remaining administrative and authorization process.\nFollowing the Council of Ministers’ decision, a special Government\nCommissioner is expected to be appointed, in coordination with the relevant\nregional authorities, to coordinate administrative activities and support\naccelerated implementation of the program, including the path toward the\nrequired single authorization.\n\nThe government-designated program includes an Edge AI data center of up to\napproximately 30 MW, integrated with renewable energy generation and storage\ninfrastructure at the Carbosulcis former coal mining complex in Nuraxi Figus,\nSardinia. Energy Vault’s broader Digital Vault Sulcis master plan is\ndesigned for phased expansion, beginning with approximately 30 MW of\nAI-focused IT capacity and scaling over time toward approximately 50–60 MW\nof IT capacity and up to 100 MW of total site power capacity.\n\nThe national strategic designation builds on the progress Energy Vault has\nmade over the past year across site development, land rights, engineering,\ngrid interconnection, commercial engagement and project planning. Together,\nthese milestones continue to reduce development risk and advance the project\ntoward construction. Energy Vault is currently targeting construction to begin\nby 2028, with commercial operations expected by 2030, subject to final\napprovals and remaining development milestones.\n\n“The designation of Digital Vault Sulcis as a program of pre-eminent\nnational strategic interest is an important milestone for the project and a\nmeaningful step forward in our European AI infrastructure strategy,” said\nMarco Terrzzuin, Chief Revenue Officer, of Energy Vault. “It recognizes the\nstrategic role this infrastructure can play for Italy while creating a more\ncoordinated pathway through the remaining development and authorization\nprocess.”\n\nLuca Manzella VP of Business Development, of Energy Vault continued,\n“Digital Vault Sulcis is also a strong example of how our Build, Own &\nOperate model is expanding beyond energy storage into powered AI\ninfrastructure. We are bringing together land, power, energy storage, digital\ninfrastructure and long-term asset ownership to develop critical\ninfrastructure at scale. With the progress achieved to date and the support of\nthe Italian Government and the Autonomous Region of Sardinia, we are\ncontinuing to systematically de-risk the project and move it toward\nconstruction and long-term commercial operation.”\n\nDigital Vault Sulcis represents the evolution of Energy Vault’s previously\nannounced development at the former Nuraxi Figus mining complex. Since the\nCompany and Carbosulcis began working together to redevelop the site as a\nnext-generation technology and energy hub, the project vision has expanded to\naddress growing demand for AI compute capacity, resilient energy\ninfrastructure and greater digital sovereignty.\n\nThe project is expected to serve as Energy Vault’s flagship AI\ninfrastructure campus in Europe, combining powered land, resilient energy\ninfrastructure, advanced energy management and modular AI data center\ncapacity. The development is designed to support Italy’s objectives around\ndigital sovereignty, artificial intelligence and investment in advanced\ntechnology infrastructure, while contributing to the long-term industrial\nredevelopment of the Sulcis region. The Italian Government has identified\nstrengthening national digital sovereignty, supporting AI development and\nattracting high-technology investment as objectives of its strategic data\ncenter program.\n\nDigital Vault Sulcis also demonstrates the broader evolution of Energy\nVault’s infrastructure platform. Building on the Company’s experience\ndeveloping, building, owning and operating energy assets, Energy Vault is\nextending its capabilities into AI infrastructure where access to powered\nland, resilient energy systems and development execution are increasingly\ncritical to bringing new compute capacity online.\n\nThe Company will continue to work closely with the Italian Government, the\nAutonomous Region of Sardinia, Carbosulcis and other stakeholders as Digital\nVault Sulcis progresses through its next development and authorization\nmilestones.\n\nAbout Energy Vault\n\nEnergy Vault® is an integrated power infrastructure platform that builds,\nowns and operates flexible, reliable energy systems to accelerate\ntime-to-power for utilities, independent power producers, industrial customers\nand the AI and data center market. At the core of its platform is a\ntechnology-agnostic, software-enabled architecture that is designed to\naccelerate project delivery, optimize performance and drive faster\ntime-to-revenue. Energy Vault’s integrated solutions combine energy storage,\ngeneration and advanced energy management to deliver scalable infrastructure\ntailored to customer needs. Its portfolio spans short-, long- and multi-day\nduration storage, enabling reliability, flexibility and cost efficiency across\napplications. For utilities and grid operators, Energy Vault provides firm,\nflexible capacity enhances grid stability and helps to ensure reliable power\ndelivery. For industrial and data center customers, the platform enables\nresilient, cost-efficient power supply to support critical operations. Through\nits Build, Own & Operate model, Energy Vault generates long-term,\nrecurring revenues while delivering project execution excellence across\ndevelopment, delivery and operations. By combining innovation with disciplined\nexecution, Energy Vault is redefining how power infrastructure is developed\nand deployed – delivering reliability, flexibility and scale in a rapidly\nevolving global energy market. Please visit www.energyvault.com\n(https://cts.businesswire.com/ct/CT?id=smartlink&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.energyvault.com&esheet=54597370&newsitemid=20260901616787&lan=en-US&anchor=www.energyvault.com&index=2&md5=d03e6fa7858becee3d813c825bd13bda)\nfor additional information.\n\nForward-Looking Statements\n\nThis press release includes forward-looking statements that reflect the\nCompany's current views with respect to, among other things, the Company's\noperations and financial performance. Forward-looking statements include\ninformation concerning possible or assumed future results of operations,\nincluding descriptions of our business plan and strategies. These statements\noften include words such as “anticipate,” “expect,” “contemplate,”\n“continue,” “plan,” “potential,” “predict,” “believe,”\n“intend,” “project,” “forecast,” “estimate,” “target,”\n“should,” “could,” “would,” “may,” “might,” “will” and\nother similar expressions. These forward-looking statements are based on our\ncurrent expectations, plans and assumptions and involve significant risks and\nuncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially, including\nthe uncertainty of our developed pipeline equating to future revenue, the lack\nof assurance that projects will reach commercial operation in the anticipated\ntimeframe or at all, and other important factors discussed under the caption\n“Risk Factors” in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended\nDecember 31, 2025, filed with the SEC on March 18, 2026, as such factors may\nbe updated from time to time in our other filings with the SEC, accessible at\nwww.sec.gov\n(https://cts.businesswire.com/ct/CT?id=smartlink&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.sec.gov&esheet=54597370&newsitemid=20260901616787&lan=en-US&anchor=www.sec.gov&index=3&md5=15ef7c99dff9786814905e4da14a53cd)\n. We undertake no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking\nstatement, except as required by law. You should not place undue reliance on\nour forward-looking statements.\n\n\n\nView source version on businesswire.com:\nhttps://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260901616787/en/\n(https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260901616787/en/)\n\nInvestors: \n\nenergyvaultIR@icrinc.com (mailto:energyvaultIR@icrinc.com)\n\nMedia: \n\nmedia@energyvault.com (mailto:media@energyvault.com)\n\n\nCopyright Business Wire 2026"},"type":"article","timestamp":"2026-09-01T17:07:00.472730963Z","server_sent_at_ms":1788282420472},"received_at":"2026-09-01T17:07:00.561Z","source_url":"https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260901616787/en/"},"analysis":{"id":"121906","press_release_id":"133013","analysis_json":{"industry":{"label":"Electrical Components & Equipment","sector":"Industrials"},"redFlags":["Long timeline to revenue with commercial operations not expected until 2030","Project success remains subject to final approvals and remaining development milestones"],"eventType":"operations_update","narrative":"The Italian Council of Ministers designated Energy Vault’s Digital Vault Sulcis investment program as a project of pre-eminent national strategic interest, triggering an accelerated administrative approval pathway and the expected appointment of a special Government Commissioner.\n\nThe project involves an initial Edge AI data center of approximately 30 MW integrated with renewable energy, located at the former Carbosulcis mining complex in Sardinia, with plans to expand total site power capacity to 100 MW.\n\nEnergy Vault targets construction to begin by 2028 and commercial operations by 2030, utilizing its Build, Own & Operate model to deliver long-term recurring revenue from powered AI infrastructure.","sentiment":"bullish","agentHooks":{"shouldPost":true,"suggestedAngle":"Strategic government designation fast-tracks Energy Vault's 100 MW AI infrastructure campus in Sardinia."},"keyFigures":{"customDimensions":{"construction_target":"2028","initial_it_capacity_mw":30,"total_power_capacity_mw":100,"commercial_operations_target":"2030"}},"quotedText":"The designation of Digital Vault Sulcis as a program of pre-eminent national strategic interest is an important milestone for the project and a meaningful step forward in our European AI infrastructure strategy","namedEntities":{"people":[{"name":"Adol Urso","role":"Minister of Enterprises and Made in Italy"},{"name":"Alessandra Todde","role":"President of the Autonomous Region of Sardinia"},{"name":"Marco Terrzzuin","role":"Chief Revenue Officer"},{"name":"Luca Manzella","role":"VP of Business Development"}],"products":["Digital Vault Sulcis"],"companies":[{"name":"Energy Vault Holdings, Inc.","ticker":"NRGV"},{"name":"Carbosulcis","relationship":"site partner / landlord"},{"name":"Italian Council of Ministers","relationship":"regulatory body"}],"dollarAmounts":[]},"materialImpact":{"score":3,"reasoning":"Government designation as a project of national strategic interest significantly de-risks the permitting process and accelerates the timeline for a 100 MW AI infrastructure project. However, revenue realization is years away (target 2030)."},"tickerRelevance":{"others":[],"primary":"NRGV"},"globalImportance":25,"audienceRelevance":30,"eventTypeSecondary":[],"importanceComponents":{"tickerTier":"small-cap","eventGravity":"regulatory-milestone","sectorWeight":"AI/Infrastructure","marketCapAdjustment":"low"}},"event_type":"operations_update","event_type_secondary":null,"sentiment":"bullish","material_impact_score":3,"narrative":"The Italian Council of Ministers designated Energy Vault’s Digital Vault Sulcis investment program as a project of pre-eminent national strategic interest, triggering an accelerated administrative approval pathway and the expected appointment of a special Government Commissioner.\n\nThe project involves an initial Edge AI data center of approximately 30 MW integrated with renewable energy, located at the former Carbosulcis mining complex in Sardinia, with plans to expand total site power capacity to 100 MW.\n\nEnergy Vault targets construction to begin by 2028 and commercial operations by 2030, utilizing its Build, Own & Operate model to deliver long-term recurring revenue from powered AI infrastructure.","key_figures":{"customDimensions":{"construction_target":"2028","initial_it_capacity_mw":30,"total_power_capacity_mw":100,"commercial_operations_target":"2030"}},"named_entities":{"people":[{"name":"Adol Urso","role":"Minister of Enterprises and Made in Italy"},{"name":"Alessandra Todde","role":"President of the Autonomous Region of Sardinia"},{"name":"Marco Terrzzuin","role":"Chief Revenue Officer"},{"name":"Luca Manzella","role":"VP of Business Development"}],"products":["Digital Vault Sulcis"],"companies":[{"name":"Energy Vault Holdings, Inc.","ticker":"NRGV"},{"name":"Carbosulcis","relationship":"site partner / landlord"},{"name":"Italian Council of Ministers","relationship":"regulatory body"}],"dollarAmounts":[]},"model_name":"glm-4.7","prompt_hash":"sha256:727b4b9429a443af","schema_hash":"sha256:05005c02d9cffac9","created_at":"2026-09-01T18:28:38.191Z","global_importance":25,"audience_relevance":30,"importance_components":{"tickerTier":"small-cap","eventGravity":"regulatory-milestone","sectorWeight":"AI/Infrastructure","marketCapAdjustment":"low"}},"durationMs":143336,"modelName":"glm-4.7"}}