The new trend of power supply for AI data centers

The new trend of power supply for AI data centers is accelerating around high power, high efficiency, high reliability, and green low-carbon direction, mainly reflected in the following aspects:

1、 High Voltage Direct Current (HVDC) architecture has become mainstream

The traditional 54V DC power supply system is no longer able to meet the megawatt level power requirements of AI racks due to high copper cable losses and space occupation. The 800V HVDC (or ± 400V) architecture has become the industry focus:

-Energy efficiency improvement: Reduce intermediate conversion links (such as AC/DC, DC/DC), increase end-to-end efficiency by 5%, and reduce copper cable usage by 45%.

-Space optimization: A single rack can support 576 GPUs, reducing copper bus weight by 90% and solving the physical limitations of megawatt level rack power supply.

-Industry Collaboration: NVIDIA leads the establishment of the 800V HVDC Alliance, collaborating with chip, power, and data center enterprises to promote standardization, with plans to achieve a single rack power supply of 1MW by 2027. Microsoft, Google and other companies are also exploring 50V to 400V transition solutions or full DC architectures.

2、 Deep integration of energy storage technology

To cope with power fluctuations and ensure 24-hour stable power supply, energy storage systems have become a key supporting component of AI data centers

-Long term energy storage (more than 4 hours): Combining renewable energy such as photovoltaics and wind power to solve intermittent power supply problems and improve green power consumption rate. For example, Tesla has launched Megapack 3 (5MWh per cabinet) and Megablock system, enabling rapid deployment and adaptation to extreme environments.

-Replacing traditional UPS: Some data centers use energy storage instead of "UPS+diesel generators" to reduce carbon emissions and operational costs. If China Telecom Anhui Intelligent Computing Center is equipped with a 25MW/200MWh energy storage system, the power supply cost will be significantly optimized.

3、 Integration of full DC power supply and green energy

-The proportion of DC equipment has increased: servers, air conditioners, lighting and other equipment are gradually shifting towards DC conversion, which is directly compatible with photovoltaic and energy storage systems, reducing conversion losses.

-Green power direct supply mode: Through the integration of source, grid, load, and storage, data centers are directly connected to green power sources such as wind power and photovoltaics, and combined with energy storage to achieve dynamic balance between power supply and demand. Under policy promotion, the proportion of green electricity in newly built data centers at national hub nodes needs to exceed 80% by 2030.

4、 Intelligent Power Management System

-AI driven energy scheduling: using AI algorithms to predict load fluctuations, dynamically adjust energy storage charging and discharging strategies, and optimize energy efficiency.

-Digital operation and maintenance: Real time monitoring of the power supply system status, reducing manual maintenance costs (estimated to decrease by 70%) through fault warning and remote control.

5、 Challenges and Future Directions

-Lack of technical standards: 800V HVDC has not yet formed a unified industry standard, and supporting equipment such as wires and transformers need to be improved.

-Cost and safety: High voltage systems have higher requirements for power devices (such as GaN/SiC) and packaging technology, resulting in larger initial investment; The energy storage system needs to further improve its safety and cycle life.

-Supply chain security: Key minerals (such as lithium and rare earths) and technological dependencies may affect the pace of global deployment.

Summary: The power supply of AI data center is transforming from "high energy consumption and low efficiency" to "high voltage, full DC, energy storage coordination, green intelligence". In the future, it will deeply integrate energy Internet and AI technology to achieve a win-win situation of computing growth and carbon emission.