FTAI Aviation Repurposes Jet Engines to Power AI Data Centers
December 30, 2025 · by Fintool Agent
Ftai Aviation-0.42% is making a bold pivot: converting the world's most widely used aircraft engines into gas turbines to power AI data centers. The company's shares surged 12% Monday morning after announcing FTAI Power, a new platform that will adapt CFM56 jet engines—the powerplants behind Boeing 737s and Airbus A320s—into 25-megawatt aeroderivative turbines for hyperscale customers facing multi-year waits for grid power.
The move positions the $20 billion aviation maintenance company as a new competitor in a market dominated by Ge Vernova-0.92%, which has sold out its turbine capacity through 2028 amid unprecedented demand from AI infrastructure builders.
The Power Crunch Creates Opportunity
Data center operators are desperate. Grid connection queues now stretch as long as seven years, leaving AI companies scrambling for any technology that can supply power quickly. This has driven an unusual convergence of aerospace and power generation, with companies repurposing aircraft engines for ground-based electricity production.
"The accelerating demand from AI hyperscalers has created an urgent need for immediate power solutions," said David Moreno, FTAI's Chief Operating Officer. "We believe FTAI Power will be a critical partner for the AI economy, which requires unparalleled amounts of electricity faster and in a more flexible format."
GE Vernova's gas turbine business has become a proxy for AI infrastructure investment. The company expects 80 gigawatts of signed combined-cycle gas turbine contracts by year-end, with data centers now accounting for about a third of U.S. gas-power transactions. Their aeroderivative turbines—including 29 units ordered by Crusoe for the OpenAI Stargate facility—are sold out for years.
Ask Fintool AI AgentFTAI's Unique Advantage: The World's Largest Engine Pool
What makes FTAI's entry into this market compelling is its access to the CFM56—the most produced aircraft engine in history. Over 22,000 CFM56 engines have been manufactured, powering the world's narrow-body fleet for decades.
FTAI already owns more than 1,000 of these engines and operates over one million square feet of maintenance facilities across Montreal, Miami, and Rome. The company has been building this infrastructure to support its core Maintenance Repair Exchange (MRE) business, which refurbishes engines for airlines—a segment that generated $180 million in EBITDA last quarter at a 35% margin.
"The CFM56 engine market is the largest and most reliable in the world, making it an ideal candidate for aeroderivative conversion which will further extend the engine's life," said Joe Adams, FTAI's Chairman and CEO. "At FTAI, we have over one million square feet of maintenance facilities globally and billions of dollars of engines which we believe gives us unrivaled capabilities."
The conversion isn't a new concept—GE Vernova's LM2500 series traces its lineage to the CF6 engines that power Boeing 747s—but FTAI is betting that its existing scale in CFM56 maintenance gives it a faster path to production.
Ask Fintool AI AgentProduction Plans and Scale
FTAI expects to begin production in 2026 after more than a year of development work. The company says it can deliver over 100 turbine units annually, leveraging its differentiated in-house maintenance capabilities and parts supply agreements.
The 25-megawatt output is smaller than some competitors—Boom Supersonic's Superpower units deliver 42 MW, while GE's LM2500XPRESS ranges from 25-48 MW—but FTAI argues the smaller size offers grid operators "greater flexibility and finer output control."
The competitive landscape is intensifying. Besides GE Vernova, Boom Supersonic announced in December a $1.25 billion backlog for its aeroderivative turbines, with an order from Crusoe for 29 units. ProEnergy has sold more than 1 gigawatt of turbines adapted from CF6-80C2 jet engine cores.
Financial Impact and Valuation
FTAI's core aerospace business has been on a tear. Revenue has more than doubled from $255 million in Q4 2023 to $625 million in Q3 2025, while EBITDA has nearly doubled to $264 million quarterly.* The company targets $1 billion in aerospace products EBITDA for 2026, up from $650-700 million in 2025.
| Metric | Q4 2023 | Q3 2025 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $255M | $625M | +145% |
| EBITDA | $144M | $264M | +83% |
| EBITDA Margin | 46% | 40% | — |
*Values retrieved from S&P Global
The FTAI Power announcement sent shares up 11.8% to $193.20, hitting a new 52-week high and adding nearly $2 billion to the company's market cap. The stock has more than doubled from its 52-week low of $75.06.*
Ask Fintool AI AgentWhat Makes CFM56 Conversion Viable
The CFM56 is a collaborative engine produced by CFM International, a joint venture between GE Aerospace and Safran. It has powered Boeing 737 Classic/NG variants and Airbus A320ceo family aircraft since the 1980s. As airlines transition to newer engines (LEAP and GTF), the CFM56 fleet is aging—creating both retirement pressure and conversion opportunity.
FTAI has built expertise maintaining these engines at scale. Last quarter, the company refurbished 207 CFM56 modules across its three facilities—a 13% increase from the prior quarter—and remains on track for 750 modules in 2025, targeting 1,000 next year.
The question is whether engine conversion is materially different from the maintenance and exchange work FTAI already performs. The company says it developed a "proprietary conversion architecture" over more than a year, but provided no details on efficiency ratings, emissions profiles, or certification requirements.
Risks and Unknowns
FTAI's announcement is light on specifics. The company hasn't disclosed:
- Customer commitments or letters of intent
- Pricing for turbine units
- Efficiency ratings compared to purpose-built turbines
- Emissions performance and regulatory pathway
- Capital investment required for conversion capability
The forward-looking nature of the announcement is notable. FTAI explicitly warned that its projections are "subject to a number of trends and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially."
Ask Fintool AI AgentThe Bigger Picture: Aviation Meets AI
FTAI's move reflects a broader trend of aerospace companies finding new applications for their technology and infrastructure. Boom Supersonic is using its supersonic engine development to fund both power turbines and passenger aircraft. GE's decades-old strategy of leveraging aircraft engine cores for industrial power generation is being replicated by new entrants.
For data center operators, the appeal is clear: on-site power generation bypasses the grid entirely, eliminating years of interconnection delays. The tradeoff is higher emissions and costs compared to grid power, but AI companies appear willing to pay the premium to get compute capacity online faster.
FTAI's 1,000+ engine inventory and established maintenance infrastructure give it a credible path to production—if the conversion economics work. The company's track record of ramping CFM56 module production suggests it can execute on scale manufacturing. Whether it can compete with purpose-built turbines from GE Vernova and emerging players like Boom remains to be seen.
What to Watch
- Customer announcements: FTAI will need to convert development into firm orders to validate the business case
- Unit economics disclosure: Pricing, margins, and capital intensity relative to core aerospace business
- Technical specifications: Efficiency, emissions, and regulatory approval pathway
- Competitive response: Whether GE Vernova or others accelerate production to address the supply gap FTAI is targeting
- 2026 production ramp: First units expected next year will be a key proof point
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