Elon Musk’s xAI taps CERAFILTEC for water reuse project

CERAFILTEC announced on February 20, 2025, that xAI will build a ceramic membrane bioreactor to enable reuse of 13 MGD of municipal wastewater for cooling its supercomputer data center in Memphis, Tennessee.

The facility will use CERAFILTEC ceramic membrane technology, with the project set for completion in 2025.

xAI is an artificial intelligence company founded by Elon Musk, who stated in a press release that this will be “the most powerful training cluster in the world.”

The facility is expected to treat more wastewater than xAI requires. The plant will provide surplus treated water to local industries to reduce the aquifer impact from existing users.

“CERAFILTEC’s robust ceramic membrane technology meets our demanding requirements for ultra-reliable and efficient water treatment to support our state-of-the-art supercomputer,” said Mark Carroll, xAI’s wastewater engineer, in a press release. “This partnership enables us to set new benchmarks in both technology and water efficiency, ensuring vital cooling water supply for our high-performance computing systems with no impact on local potable water supplies.”

Caroll is leading the design and construction of the recycling plant.

“Our DNAs are very aligned, and together we are shaping the future of both AI and water treatment,” said Dr. Torsten Wintergerste in a press release.

Dr. Wintergerste, who recently joined CERAFILTEC as CEO, comes from the Swiss technology company Sulzer, where he served as President of the Chemtech division.