With unprecedented demand for gas turbines coming from rapid buildout of AI data centers, developers are looking for alternatives to supply power.

Steam turbines fed by gas-fired industrial boilers are an increasingly attractive and relatively new option. Industrial boilers have been around for many years, and their supply chain and manufacturing capacity is extensive.

Thus, lead times for a packaged boiler, a complete factory-built system, are typically a year or less, while gas turbines ordered today might not be delivered until 2032.

Instead of building them onsite, packaged boilers are made and assembled in a factory with burners and controls added and are delivered as a complete system.

Packaged boilers can use boiler steam supplemented with steam produced using exhaust heat from the gas turbine, boosting energy efficiency.

Global Market Insights predicts that the steam turbine market will grow by almost three times between 2025 and 2034. The industrial boiler market is expected to see a similar growth trajectory.