Senmiao Technology has entered into a non-binding letter of intent for a proposed strategic partnership involving Energence Utah, a planned digital infrastructure campus in Duchesne County, Utah, as the Nasdaq-listed company seeks to transition toward AI and data center infrastructure.
Under the proposed transaction, Senmiao would make a staged $5 million development-capital investment directly into Energence Utah LLC. The contemplated terms also include a proposed 51% equity interest and board representation, although the final ownership, governance and economic terms remain subject to definitive agreements.
Energence Utah is being developed with Elio Energy Group, through Elio Energy Development, serving as the project’s development services provider.
Senmiao said completing the investment would represent an early step in its transformation from its historical automobile transaction and related services businesses into a digital infrastructure company focused on power-intensive data center opportunities in the United States.
The proposed $5 million investment is intended to fund development work needed to move Energence Utah toward an executable and financeable project. It is not intended to finance the full construction cost of the site’s planned generation, energy storage or transmission infrastructure.
Under the project’s current development schedule, Energence Utah is targeting 100 MW of firm capacity by Year 2 through planned gas generation, solar photovoltaic generation and battery storage.
The longer-term plan targets 700 MW of firm capacity by Year 4 through a combination of utility service, gas generation, storage and solar resources. By Year 6, the campus is targeting up to 1.2 GW of firm capacity and approximately 1.9 GW of total connected capacity.
Those targets remain subject to engineering, interconnection, permitting, financing, equipment procurement, commercial agreements and construction.
Energence Utah is planned as a 5,046-acre multi-use infrastructure campus located between Salt Lake City and Denver.
The master plan includes a 475-acre data center campus designed to support up to 1 GW of development, with the data center footprint expandable to more than 1,000 acres. The project also includes a 200-acre integrated energy center and approximately 1,440 acres planned for solar generation, with remaining acreage designated for industrial development.
Senmiao said the campus is intended to combine land, power, permitting, connectivity and potential infrastructure-financing mechanisms in a single master-planned development capable of supporting hyperscale data centers, power generation, energy storage and advanced manufacturing.
Conditional-use permits are currently active for the data campus, gas generation, energy storage and solar photovoltaic generation.
The project has also received an initial natural gas commitment of 100,000 MMBTU per day, which the company said would provide enough capacity for the initial two-year development target. Negotiations are ongoing for enough natural gas supply to potentially support up to 1 GW of gas generation.
The campus is situated within the Utah Inland Port Authority’s Black Gold Project Area and could potentially benefit from data center tax exemptions and other economic development incentives, subject to eligibility, negotiation and governmental approval.
Energence Utah also intends to establish one or more Public Infrastructure Districts. Subject to required approvals and market conditions, these structures could use allocated tax increment to support tax-exempt infrastructure bonds.
Elio Energy Group is expected to lead the project’s core development workstreams. The U.S. energy developer reports approximately 3.5 GW of projects in active development, including about 1.5 GW of generation and 2 GW of planned storage capacity targeted for delivery through 2029.
Elio’s development team has more than 13 years of experience, and the company completed the divestiture of a 500 MW solar project to an independent power producer in 2025.
The proposed Energence Utah transaction is separate from Senmiao’s previously announced Nebula Matrix AI joint venture with Constant Energy Construction.
The letter of intent is non-binding, and completion remains subject to due diligence, definitive agreements, required approvals and other closing conditions. Senmiao cautioned that there is no assurance the transaction will close on the proposed terms or at all.
KEY QUOTES:
“Following completion of the investment, we believe this investment will be an significant step in Senmiao’s transformation into a digital infrastructure company. Energence Utah would give us the opportunity to pursue entry into the market through a large-scale, power-centric campus in Utah.”
“By combining Elio’s development experience with Senmiao’s capital-markets capabilities, we believe we could build a platform at the intersection of power, land and computing infrastructure, though there is no assurance we will achieve this.”
Ronggang Zhang, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Senmiao Technology
“Energence Utah has been assembled with the requirements of hyperscale and AI infrastructure customers in mind: a large contiguous site, a diversified energy plan, fiber connectivity, water resources, active use permits and access to Utah’s economic-development framework.”
“Upon closing, Senmiao’s proposed investment is expected to provide development capital and establish a public-company partnership aligned with the long-term vision for the campus.”
Daven Mehta, Chief Executive Officer of Energence Power
