AirTrunk, the Blackstone-backed data center operator, has secured a $1 billion green loan to deploy liquid cooling at its TOK1 campus in Inzai, Japan, enabling large-scale AI workloads. The 300-plus-megawatt campus is expected to bring its first liquid-cooled capacity online in January 2028.
The investment lifts AirTrunk total planned commitments in Japan to about $9 billion (roughly ¥1.4 trillion), according to reporting on the financing. Moreover, the loan follows a ¥191.6 billion ($1.24 billion) green loan arranged in March 2026 for the same campus, which brings green financing for TOK1 to about $2.2 billion this year. AirTrunk founder and CEO Robin Khuda said TOK1 is likely to become the first campus in Japan to run large-scale AI workloads.
Liquid cooling exists to support denser, more power-hungry AI loads, which raises the question of how Japan will supply flexible, low-carbon electricity to new digital demand. Grid-scale storage is one answer in development, and Gurīn Energy appointed Saft in June 2025 to supply more than 1 GWh of lithium-ion batteries, able to deliver 240 MW for four hours, at its Fukushima energy storage project in Soma City. Construction was expected to begin in 2026, and no later confirmation of a start was found. Energy trade reporting describes the 1 GWh system as the first phase of a planned 2 GWh complex.
AirTrunk TOK1 Retrofit Converts a Cloud Campus for AI Workloads
The AirTrunk TOK1 campus has traditionally supported cloud services, according to Reuters reporting on the announcement. Liquid cooling is the change that allows the site to host AI servers, because it runs coolant close to the chips so power-hungry machines can keep performing without overheating.
AirTrunk opened TOK1 in November 2021 with an initial 60 MW for hyperscale anchor customers, as described in the company’s original opening announcement. The campus is now described as a 300-plus-megawatt site, which is more than five times its first-phase capacity.
In addition, AirTrunk had started construction by March 2026 on more than 100 MW of extra IT load at TOK1 to meet near-term customer demand. The new liquid cooling will serve multiple customers at the campus, according to Capital Brief, although the customers have not been named in the reporting reviewed.
AirTrunk first deployed liquid cooling in Malaysia in 2024. The company expects the TOK1 rollout to inform future deployments across Japan and the wider Asia Pacific region.
AirTrunk $1 Billion Green Loan Lifts Japan Commitments to $9 Billion
The $1 billion (about ¥155 billion) facility is a syndicated green loan led by banks including Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, MUFG Bank and United Overseas Bank, according to Reuters. Reporting on the financing says the loan is tied to the liquid cooling deployment, and AirTrunk has not disclosed how much is allocated to cooling versus other campus costs.
As a result, the $1 billion figure is best read as a financing envelope rather than a line-by-line equipment budget. Reuters framed the same sum as an additional investment in the campus, so the two descriptions should be treated as the same money viewed from the spending side and the funding side.
The March 2026 loan was led by SMBC, MUFG, Crédit Agricole CIB and Société Générale as global coordinators. It was described at the time as the largest data center financing completed in Japan. Meanwhile, the October facility adds a second tranche of green debt within seven months.
In total, AirTrunk now has about $9 billion committed across existing and planned projects in Japan, according to Capital Brief. TOK1 and the company’s other campuses in the Tokyo and Osaka areas make up that portfolio.
AirTrunk Sees Japan Gaining AI Demand From Regional Customers
Khuda said, “Due to geopolitical reasons, we are seeing more and more customers looking to Japan from a North Asian perspective.” He also said deploying AI infrastructure is set to become harder in the United States and is already difficult in Europe, which he expects to make Asia a major beneficiary.
AirTrunk is owned by Blackstone, which acquired the Australian operator in 2024 in a deal reported at A$24 billion (US$16 billion). The Inzai upgrade therefore adds to the group’s exposure to the physical infrastructure behind AI rather than to chipmakers or software.
The timeline remains long. First liquid-cooled capacity is about 15 months away, and no construction contractor for the cooling works has been named in the reporting reviewed.
Project Overview
- Project Name: AirTrunk TOK1 Data Center Campus, liquid cooling upgrade
- Owner and Operator: AirTrunk, backed by Blackstone
- Location: Inzai, Chiba Prefecture, east of Tokyo, Japan
- Project Type: Hyperscale data center campus retrofit for AI workloads
- Investment: $1 billion additional, per Reuters
- Financing: $1 billion green loan led by banks including SMBC, MUFG Bank and UOB
- Campus Capacity: More than 300 MW
- Campus Opened: November 2021, with an initial 60 MW
- First Liquid-Cooled Capacity: January 2028
- Customers: Multiple, not named in reporting reviewed
- Earlier Financing: ¥191.6 billion ($1.24 billion) green loan, March 2026
- Concurrent Expansion: More than 100 MW of IT load under construction as of March 2026
- Total Japan Commitment: About $9 billion, per Capital Brief
- Strategic Impact: Expected to be the first campus in Japan with large-scale AI workload deployment, per Khuda
- Construction Contractor: Not publicly disclosed
Project Team
Owner and Investor
- Owner and Operator: AirTrunk
- Parent and Investor: Blackstone
Financiers, October 2026 Green Loan
- Lead Banks: Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, MUFG Bank, United Overseas Bank
Financiers, March 2026 Green Loan
- Global Coordinators: Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, MUFG Bank, Crédit Agricole CIB, Société Générale
Contractors
- Cooling Works Contractor: Not named in materials reviewed
Related Project: Fukushima Energy Storage, Soma City
- Developer: Gurīn Energy
- Battery Supplier: Saft, a subsidiary of TotalEnergies
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