What impact is artificial intelligence (AI) having on data center power demands?
The growing adoption of AI is driving exponential growth in demand for computing power. Even without considering the energy needs to train complex AI models, an AI-based query can use up to 10x more energy than a traditional internet search. AI adoption at scale across businesses, industries and consumers is pushing power demands to unprecedented levels. In fact, global data center power demands are projected to nearly triple between 2024 and 2030, with AI workloads accounting for about 70 percent of this growth.
The growth in AI workloads is changing the way the chips and server racks are built within data centers. Over the next couple of years, we will see a shift from today’s already powerful kilowatt-scale racks to 1 megawatt (MW) racks in some next-generation data centers. Each rack will consume about the same amount of electricity as 1,000 average households. This is why ABB Electrification is collaborating with leading AI chip makers, tech giants and data center operators to develop new technologies and direct current (DC) power architectures to address rapidly growing power demands.
How will higher voltage DC solutions support future AI data centers?
Simply put, it’s about bringing more DC power to the racks in the most energy-efficient way possible. It’s like building an expressway that minimizes congestion and losses. The DC data center power architecture and technologies we’re developing will help eliminate power conversions that normally occur in a data center and will enable sites to operate at a higher voltage. For example, we are collaborating with NVIDIA on technologies to deploy 800 VDC architectures, which is a huge step up from the low-voltage DC power supplies racks use today.
This higher voltage DC approach reduces power losses and heat loss. This impact is very important especially as hyperscalers plan for gigawatt-sized data centers. Every watt saved adds up to reduce power and cooling needs.
This architecture also requires less copper. That may not sound like much, but it could be around 200 kilograms less per 1 MW rack for the busbars alone. Scaling that to a 1 GW data center, a 45% copper savings across a facility could add up to half a million tons of less copper used.
What technology is needed to shift to higher voltage DC operations?
Delivering this level of power efficiently requires major advancements in power distribution technologies and architecture. Future data center power architectures need to combine a medium voltage (MV) uninterruptible power supply (UPS) with direct current (DC) power distribution to the server room using solid-state power electronics devices.
This requires innovation to make it safe and reliable in the crowded confines of a data center. Data centers have a lot of sensitive electronic equipment that consumes enormous amounts of power and must also be protected against any damaging power quality issues.
ABB has been an innovator and an early investor in cutting-edge UPS, DC and solid-state electronics that are the key building blocks for supporting next-generation data centers.
Recent ABB innovations include HiPerGuard, the world’s first solid-state MV UPS. HiPerGuard allows AI data centers to increase power density and energy efficiency in a smaller footprint. Our expertise in developing solid-state circuit breaker technology that uses power electronics to prevent arcs means we can provide the speed and controllability needed to make higher voltage direct current distribution viable.
