The demand for AI computing power is growing exponentially, and traditional data center power supply solutions are facing unprecedented challenges. The overall power of NVIDIA B200 and B300 series products has reached 132 kW, while the future Rubin Ultra is expected to reach 288or 576 nodes, and the power density will further soar to two or three hundred kilowatts. In this context, high-voltage direct current supply (HVDC) technology is moving from niche applications to mainstream and has become a key technology that redefines data center power supply architecture.

With the continuous rise of AI server power consumption, the traditional AC power supply mode faces the challenges of large transmission loss and high equipment complexity, and HVDC is gradually becoming the focus of industry attention with its advantages of reducing current and reducing power loss. Especially when combining battery energy storage, photovoltaic power generation, and energy recovery technology, HVDC not only improves energy efficiency, but also simplifies the power supply architecture, improving the reliability and flexibility of the overall system.

The participation of industry giants such as Google and Nvidia marks the gradual improvement of HVDC standards and ecology. The use of HVDC in the industrial sector to optimize energy management in robots and forklifts is also showing great potential for energy savings.

It should be noted that HVDC technology still faces technical problems such as arc control when disconnecting the load, which needs to be broken through urgently. Overall, HVDC represents an important development direction for intelligent manufacturing and green data centers in the future, and with the maturity of supporting technologies, it is expected to accelerate the replacement of traditional power supply methods and promote the transformation of energy structure.

HVDC's core technical advantages. HVDC technology has appeared as early as 2004-2005, but its technical characteristics make it a popular choice in AIThe times are reborn. The core advantage is reflected in the efficiency level: HVDC end-to-end efficiency can be maintained above 97.5%, compared to 2000In the early days, UPS was only 92%-93%. This means that HVDC can transfer more power to the load when the same one kilowatt-hour is input, significantly reducing energy consumption.

Microsoft and Meta: These two companies are the most active in investing in the AI field, and the demand for HVDC is also the clearest and most urgent.

Amazon, Google: There is also a demand for HVDC, but it may not be as aggressive as Microsoft and Meta, and some of its servers will still use ASIC chips or low-power configurations.

Initial penetration: In 2027, the penetration rate of HVDCs is expected to be around 20%. HVDC serves the entire data center, not individual server cabinets. A data center is typically configured with 4 HVDC solutions, and if there are 100 data centers, 20 of which are HVDC configured, the total demand is 80 HVDC.

With chip iterations, the power consumption of AI servers continues to rise. At present, server cabinets with a power of more than 100 kilowatts per cabinet are in use, and this value may rise to 1 megawatt per cabinet in the next five years. The huge power demand of a single cabinet requires data centers to be equipped with extremely high-capacity power distribution systems and uninterruptible power supplies (UPS). Some hyperscale data centers no longer place UPSs and servers separately, but instead deploy AI server cabinets next to battery and energy conversion module cabinets

If the battery pack is connected to the server using direct current, energy loss when converting to alternating current (AC) in the middle can be avoided

The shift to 800V power distribution is not limited to NVIDIA – it reflects broader industry trends. Other key players in hyperscalers and data centers are also exploring high-voltage solutions to meet growing power demands.

NVIDIA is not the only one talking about it. Everyone is talking about it in all our different customer segments, and this is because they all see the same trends and the same challenges, Morroni observed.

The timeline for adopting 800V HVDC is very tight, with proof-of-concept systems expected to be implemented as early as 2025, with production deployments scheduled for 2026. The industry is moving very quickly to these higher voltage power distributions. We are talking about proof-of-concept in customer systems in 2025 and production in 2026, Morroni added: "As we move towards megawatt-scale AI racks, 800V is no longer optional, but foundational. And this industry will achieve this faster than ever before."

In-depth analysis of the market pattern: China and the United States differentiated, giant game.