TeraWulf Inc. has secured a credit backstop from Google for the Anthropic lease at its Justified Data Campus in Hawesville, Kentucky. The company disclosed the arrangement in a Form 8-K filed Nov. 4, 2026. Under three Credit Support Agreements, Google LLC agrees to backstop certain obligations of Anthropic under the lease. TeraWulf's press release describes the lease commitments as approximately $19 billion of contracted revenue. The same filing and an accompanying press release disclosed a definitive engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) agreement with Fluor Enterprises, Inc. for three data center buildings on the site.

The Google agreements are tied to project debt. In its press release, TeraWulf describes them as credit support "in connection with debt financing" for the Anthropic lease commitments, and elsewhere calls that financing "anticipated." Neither the filing nor the release says the financing has closed.

Reuters, in a report carried by KFGO, called the agreement the latest example of major tech firms providing multi-billion-dollar financial backstops and guarantees to help smaller AI companies, including neoclouds and data center developers, fund AI infrastructure build-out.

The Lease Being Backstopped

The 8-K describes the underlying deal. In July 2026, TeraWulf subsidiary Raylan Data LLC signed a 20-year lease with Anthropic, PBC for approximately 401 MW of critical IT load at Hawesville. The premises consist of three buildings, which the filing calls CB-1, CB-2 and CB-3, each covered by its own lease. Anthropic's obligation to pay rent on each data hall starts when that hall is delivered. Delivery is expected in phases beginning in late 2027 and concluding in the second quarter of 2028.

Data Center Frontier reported in July that the lease was expected to generate about $19 billion in contracted revenue over its initial 20-year term, with initial capacity expected to be operational by late 2027. The site is the former Hawesville aluminum smelter, and Data Center Frontier said the project leverages existing electrical infrastructure there to accelerate deployment. Data Center Frontier also reported that TeraWulf was selling its 50.1% interest in a joint venture in Abernathy, Texas, for about $530 million.

How the Google Backstop Works

Google signed three separate Credit Support Agreements, one for each building's lease. The 8-K says the parties are Google, Anthropic, Raylan Data LLC, Justified DataPower LLC (a wholly owned TeraWulf subsidiary) and TeraWulf itself. The filing sets out four main terms:

  • When it starts. Each backstop becomes effective as of the commencement date for the final data hall under its lease.
  • When it ends. The support terminates under the conditions described in the agreements. One is Anthropic, or an affiliate guaranteeing its obligations, achieving and maintaining certain investment-grade credit ratings for at least three months.
  • What triggers it. The backstop applies if Anthropic defaults on a payment under a lease or becomes subject to an insolvency event, following notice from Raylan.
  • What Google can do. If the backstop is triggered, Google has the option to pay all rent currently due and assume the lease as tenant. Or, under certain circumstances, it can pay a termination fee, which the filing says amortizes over a defined term, and would then be entitled to acquire an equity interest in Raylan. After a payment default, Google may also defer its election for a specified period, during which it pays unpaid and newly due rent.

Raylan and Anthropic also amended the leases, which the filing calls the Justified Leases, on Nov. 4. The 8-K files the form of credit support agreement as Exhibit 10.1 with certain schedules and exhibits omitted, so some details are not public.

TeraWulf's release notes that Alphabet's senior unsecured debt is rated AA+ by S&P Global Ratings and Aa2 by Moody's. The release says Google LLC is a subsidiary of Alphabet Inc.

"We structured our Anthropic leases from the outset to address counterparty credit, financing costs and capital requirements," TeraWulf Chairman and CEO Paul Prager said in the release. "Google's credit support strengthens our ability to secure competitive project financing, while Fluor's engineering and construction capabilities expand our capacity to execute at scale."

Chief Financial Officer Patrick Fleury focused on borrowing costs. "Cost of capital is fundamental to infrastructure development," he said. "Strong investment-grade credit support strengthens the project's financing profile and our ability to pursue competitive long-term debt, reinforcing our focus on disciplined capital allocation and attractive risk-adjusted returns."

Why the Structure Matters

A lease used to support project debt raises a basic question: how creditworthy is the tenant? On the terms the 8-K describes, the Hawesville agreements put Google behind certain Anthropic obligations once the backstop takes effect. If the backstop is triggered, Google can choose to pay the rent and assume the lease, or pay a termination fee and become entitled to acquire equity in Raylan. The agreements also describe an off-ramp: the backstop can terminate once Anthropic, or a guaranteeing affiliate, achieves and maintains certain investment-grade ratings for at least three months.

That is the pattern Reuters described: large technology companies providing financial support that helps AI developers and neocloud operators fund the infrastructure build-out. TeraWulf had to describe the Hawesville terms in an SEC filing, though the omitted schedules mean the full agreements are not public.

The Fluor EPC Agreement

TeraWulf also signed a definitive EPC agreement with Fluor Enterprises covering three data center buildings at Justified. The company's release says it builds on a limited notice to proceed announced in March 2026. Fluor's role advances from early engineering and pre-construction to engineering, procurement, construction, testing and commissioning.

The release describes the contract as GMP-basis, and says guaranteed maximum pricing "is being established in accordance with the agreement as engineering and procurement progress." The release does not state a price. According to the release, the agreement establishes defined delivery milestones, open-book cost reporting, procurement oversight and contractual performance protections.

The company also tied the contract to the supply of construction labor. "As labor availability becomes an increasingly important constraint on large-scale data center development," the release says, Fluor's more than 100 years of experience delivering complex infrastructure projects provides meaningful execution depth and flexibility. The release also cites Fluor's established network of subcontractors and skilled labor.

"Fluor gives us the ability to scale execution without building a global engineering and construction organization internally," Prager said.

The release also says the Justified milestones follow TeraWulf's recent expansion of contracted power capacity to 1 GW at its Muskie Data Campus in eastern Kentucky, according to the company.

What Happens Next

Three items are on the record:

  • Project debt financing. TeraWulf describes the debt that the Google agreements support as anticipated. The company has not announced a closing.
  • Fluor's guaranteed maximum price. The release says guaranteed maximum pricing is being established as engineering and procurement progress.
  • Construction delivery. Under the EPC milestone schedule in the release, phased ready-for-service completions are expected to begin in late 2027 and continue through the second quarter of 2028. That is consistent with the lease delivery window in the 8-K. Rent on each data hall starts when that hall is delivered. Under the 8-K, each Google backstop becomes effective at the commencement date for the final data hall under the corresponding lease.

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