The Vertical Stack Technology Coalition For Near-Zero Emissions PBC (VTCNZE) today announced a proposed national framework designed to deploy approximately 600 GWh of distributed grid storage within 48 months by adapting the public equity model used under the CHIPS and Science Act to energy infrastructure. The proposal, called 'Speed-to-Power,' aims to address power bottlenecks that threaten U.S. leadership in artificial intelligence, quantum computing, and advanced manufacturing.
VTCNZE argues that the federal government's recent use of minority, non-controlling equity stakes in strategic technology companies should be applied to the physical power infrastructure needed to support frontier AI and high-density data centers. 'The CHIPS model changed the conversation from one-way subsidy to taxpayer upside,' said Max Davis, Founding Architect of VTCNZE. 'If public authority can accelerate quantum and semiconductor infrastructure while preserving value for the taxpayer, the same principle should apply to the energy infrastructure needed to power frontier AI. Chips do not matter if America cannot turn them on.'
The framework prioritizes high-density, load-adjacent, non-lithium energy storage assets positioned near major computing and industrial load centers. Instead of relying on sprawling battery farms or lengthy utility interconnection queues, VTCNZE proposes compact, modular, vertically integrated storage structures deployable on urban industrial parcels, brownfields, and underutilized public land. The company believes the national AI power challenge is now an industrial strategy, national security, ratepayer protection, and community wealth issue.
Under the proposed model, federal, state, and municipal entities would receive minority, non-controlling equity stakes in qualified infrastructure projects. The federal government could contribute national priority designation, financing access, and permitting coordination; state governments could provide clean-grid authority and infrastructure bank liquidity; municipalities could offer brownfield access and zoning acceleration. Private investors would contribute capital and engineering execution. 'No taxpayer acceleration without taxpayer upside,' the proposal states.
The deployment target of 600 GWh is intended to be achieved through a repeatable manufacturing approach rather than one-off projects. 'Scaling 600 GWh is not about building one mega-project,' Davis said. 'It is about validating a repeatable infrastructure unit, aligning public authority with private capital, and then deploying that unit across the corridors where power constraints are already threatening American technological leadership.'
A central component is the 'WIMBY Factor' (Welcome In My Backyard), which ensures host communities share in economic benefits and are protected from cost-shifting. 'Behind-the-meter cannot mean behind-the-community,' Davis said. 'If a neighborhood is being asked to host the infrastructure of the AI age, that neighborhood should not be treated as an afterthought. It should be treated as a stakeholder.'
VTCNZE calls for immediate cooperation among public authorities, utilities, data center operators, and financiers to evaluate pilot sites, including urban brownfields, grid-constrained industrial zones, and former fossil infrastructure sites. The company believes Illinois and Chicago are strong candidates for early pilots due to data center demand and industrial land availability.
The proposal draws a direct line to the CHIPS and Science Act, which signaled strategic U.S. intervention for critical technology capacity. 'Chips require fabs. Fabs require power. AI requires data centers. Data centers require storage, transformers, substations, cooling, and resilient electricity,' Davis said. 'The next layer of American industrial policy is power. The sooner we admit that, the faster we can build.'
For more details, visit https://verticalstack.energy.
