Nvidia is developing a new power infrastructure called the 800V HVDC architecture to deliver the power requirements of 1 MW server racks and more, with plans to deploy it by 2027. According to Nvidia, the current 54V DC power distribution system is already reaching its limit as racks begin to exceed 200 kilowatts. As AI chips become more powerful and demand more electricity, these existing systems would no longer be able to practically keep up, requiring data centers to build new solutions so that their electrical circuits do not get overwhelmed.
For example, Nvidia says that its GB200 NVL72 or GB300 NVL72 needs around eight power shelves. If it used 54V DC power distribution, the power shelves would consume 64 U of rack space, which is more than what the average server rack can accommodate. Aside from this, it also said that delivering 1 MW using 54V DC requires a 200 kg copper busbar — that means a gigawatt AI data center, which many companies are now racing to build, would need 500,000 tons of copper. This is nearly half of the U.S.’s total copper output in 2024, and that’s just for one site.
So, instead of using the 54V DC system, which is installed directly at the server cabinet, Nvidia is proposing to use the 800V HVDC, which will connect near the site’s 13.8kV AC power source. Aside from freeing up space in the server racks, this will also streamline the approach and make power transmission within the data center more efficient. It will also remove the multiple AC to DC and DC to DC transformations used in the current system, which added complexity.
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The 800V HVDC will also reduce the system current for the same power load, potentially increasing the total wattage delivered by up to 85% without the need to upgrade the conductor. “With lower current, thinner conductors can handle the same load, reducing copper requirements by 45%,” said the company. “Additionally, DC systems eliminate AC-specific inefficiencies, such as skin effect and reactive power losses, further improving efficiency.”
According to Digitimes [machine translated], the AI giant is working with Infineon, Texas Instruments, and Navitas to help develop this system. Furthermore, it’s expected that they will deploy wide-bandgap semiconductors like gallium nitride (GaN) and silicon carbide (SiC) to achieve the high power densities needed by these powerful AI systems. The 800V HVDC is a technical challenge that data centers must solve for power efficiency, especially as they start to breach 1 GW capacity and more. This solution should help them reduce wasted power, which, in turn, would reduce operating costs.
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