Gas Instead of Silicon: Energy Giants Build a New Digital Russia
In 2025, Russia’s IT infrastructure made a strategic pivot away from the traditional data-center model toward a fundamentally different approach. Against the backdrop of a global shortage of power capacity for data centers, Russia began monetising its key competitive advantage – access to low-cost energy directly in regions where it is produced.
Gazprom’s Strategy: From Pipelines to Data Flows
This trend not only defined the outgoing year but is set to shape the sector’s trajectory in 2026 and beyond. A turning point came in October 2025, when Gazprom signed an agreement with Crypto Energy. The gas giant formally announced plans to deploy data centres at its production sites.
Power supply for these facilities will be based on either low-pressure gas from depleted fields or spare capacity at Gazprom’s own power plants. In practical terms, this converts previously underutilised energy assets into digital infrastructure.
Rising energy demand from the digital economy has become a visible factor in the national fuel balance. The advantages of this model are clear – the use of existing infrastructure, minimal energy costs due to on-site generation, flexible scaling, and a lower carbon footprint through the utilisation of oil-well gas.
The Yakutia Prototype: A New Paradigm in Practice
In 2025, Russia’s northern regions saw the first real-world implementation of this approach. In the Vilyuysky District of the Sakha Republic (Yakutia), the country’s first gas-powered data centre began operating in test mode. The project, initiated by the Yakut Fuel and Energy Company, provides a concrete example of how a resource-based economy can be transformed into a higher-value digital model.
The Arctic climate, often viewed as a constraint, becomes a key advantage by sharply reducing server cooling costs. Yakutia’s head, Aisen Nikolaev, described the approach as fundamentally sound – gas extracted locally is converted into energy that produces a new, high-technology product.
Converging Trends: Powering Artificial Intelligence
Locating data centres next to energy sources is not an end in itself, but a response to surging demand from emerging technologies. A study by the Higher School of Business at the Higher School of Economics identifies AI agents as the main technology focus for 2026, with 59% of Russian companies expressing active interest in their deployment. Such systems require massive computing capacity and, consequently, large volumes of energy.
At the same time, Russia is increasing investment in domestic microelectronics. More than 3 trillion rubles (about $35–36 billion) will be allocated to this sector in 2026. New energy-efficient processors are being developed that consume around 40% less power. This creates a powerful synergy – low-consumption Russian hardware operating inside data centres supplied with some of the country’s cheapest electricity.
Challenges and Prospects for 2026
In 2026, Russia’s data-processing market will continue to face a structural challenge – around 80% of existing data centres are located in the energy-deficient Moscow region. Building new facilities directly at resource extraction sites is expected to become a stabilising factor.
This model strengthens technological sovereignty by ensuring domestic data storage on infrastructure with predictable energy costs. It also creates a full value chain, from resource extraction to the delivery of cloud services. Export potential expands as well. Rather than selling raw materials, Russia can offer countries with similar conditions a finished technological solution – gas-powered data centres.
As a result, one of the defining events of 2025 was the strategic convergence of energy and high technology. In 2026, the rollout of Gazprom’s pilot projects and the scaling of the Yakutia model are expected, along with the entry of other major oil and gas companies into this race. Energy is becoming a digital asset, reshaping the rules of the game for Russia’s IT industry.
