Lumen Technologies announced a partnership with Emerald AI on October 29 to explore routing AI computing requests toward data centers with available electricity. The companies want networking software to consider power availability and energy costs alongside latency, aiming to ease pressure on electrical grids.

The proposed system would combine Emerald AI’s Conductor energy-intelligence platform with Lumen’s programmable fiber network and edge facilities. Instead of running every inference request at a fixed location, eligible work could shift when local power is scarce or expensive.

How power availability could shape AI networks

Lumen said the companies are exploring a pilot using its infrastructure. It disclosed no locations, launch date, measured electricity savings or production customers. The announcement does not establish that workloads are already being redirected across its network.

Power-aware scheduling differs from ordinary traffic balancing. Another facility must have available accelerators, network capacity and adequate response time while meeting security requirements. Moving computing tasks also does not create electricity; the benefit depends on supply and demand at each location.

Emerald AI has previously demonstrated grid-responsive computing, with certain AI jobs adjusting power demand during electricity-system stress. Those earlier results should not be mistaken for a completed Lumen deployment. The new collaboration aims to extend that approach across computing sites.

Lumen adds quantum research and security plans

Lumen separately announced investment in quantum-networking research at The Ohio State University. Researchers will study optical links between geographically distributed quantum systems and sensing applications using existing fiber. These are research efforts, not a deployed quantum internet.

The company also plans Fortinet-based post-quantum cryptography for its secure-access service-edge product, initially in November 2026 and generally in January 2027. It is meant to address the risk that future quantum computers could decrypt data stolen today.

The initiatives connect with wider infrastructure changes. New data-center power converters seek to improve electricity delivery, while AI networking systems aim to keep accelerators connected reliably. Lumen and Emerald AI want the network itself to help determine where computing happens.

The decisive test will be whether power-aware routing cuts costs or grid stress without unacceptable delays or moving sensitive data across restricted boundaries. For now, Lumen has announced a collaboration and possible pilot, not verified savings at an operating AI campus.

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