Applied Digital finalises CoreWeave lease in North Dakota

The agreement between Applied Digital and CoreWeave in North Dakota will further bolster Applied Digital’s strategic expansion into advanced compute infrastructure.

With a new lease agreement with CoreWeave having now been finalised, an additional 150 megawatts (MW) is in place at the Polaris Forge 1 Campus in Ellendale, North Dakota. It will bring Applied Digital’s total anticipated contracted lease revenue to roughly US$11 billion, which includes $7 billion in revenue from the initial two approximately 15-year leases executed in May 2025.

“This new lease agreement with CoreWeave underpins our commitment to building the next generation of AI infrastructure right here in America’s heartland,” said Wes Cummins, chairman and CEO of Applied Digital. “It also further reinforces the importance of North Dakota’s role in shaping the future of the digital economy and is another step in advancing its position as one of the most strategic destinations for AI in the world.”

Under the terms of this new long-term lease agreement, the total critical IT capacity across these three long-term lease agreements will encompass 400MW across Applied Digital’s purpose-built Polaris Forge 1 Campus. This campus is strategically designed to power CoreWeave’s AI and high-performance computing (HPC) initiatives.

The additional 150MW data centre will be housed in the third building of Polaris Forge 1 and is currently in the planning stages.

It is expected that the new lease agreement will be at full capacity and ready for service in 2027. Under the initial lease agreements in May, the first 100MW data centre for CoreWeave is scheduled to be ready for service in Q4 of 2025 and the second building, which is expected to house a 150MW data centre, is currently under construction and is expected to be operational in the middle of 2026.

Polaris Forge 1 has been designed to scale up to one gigawatt (GW) over time as it seeks to support high-density compute. It has also been designed to use renewable power and benefit from the cool climate in North Dakota to prioritise sustainability.

Applied Digital says this is estimated to result in $2.7 billion in savings over a lifespan of 30 years, according to its recent study. The company hopes to highlight that it can transform regional resources into economic opportunity, showcasing how AI Factories have the potential to support communities.

Now, Applied Digital is seeking to continue its rapid growth trajectory by delivering on its stated mission to power progress through development of purpose-driven AI factory campuses. It says these facilities are intended to power emerging technologies and turn overlooked regions into thriving hubs of innovation.

Innovation to bring value and peace of mind to customers

AI power surge could double global data centre energy use by 2030, warns IEA