HITACHI Ltd and Hitachi Energy, a global leader in electrification, are supporting NVIDIA’s 800-volt direct-current (VDC) power architecture by developing a cleaner, more efficient way to power the next-generation artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure. This power architecture paves the way for larger, more energy-efficient “AI factories” at a global scale.
Modern AI workloads are pushing data centres beyond the limits of traditional power architectures, which were designed for much smaller compute loads. Hitachi Energy’s advanced grid-to-rack architecture supports the 800 VDC rack design and streamlines how electricity flows from the grid into servers. The result is a simpler, more efficient, and more sustainable power system built for modern data centres that cuts energy waste, reduces cooling needs, and accelerates the deployment of hyperscale AI facilities.
“As the energy arm of the Hitachi Group, Hitachi Energy brings over a century of expertise in grid technologies and power electronics to this collaboration,” said Jun Taniguchi, senior vice president and executive officer, CEO of strategic SIB business unit, Hitachi, Ltd. “Through our wider focus on the data centre industry, the Hitachi Group’s combined expertise enables clean and sustainable development of the AI factories of the future.”
Consultancy McKinsey forecasts that up to 125-gigawatt (GW) of AI data center capacity could be developed globally between 2025 and 2030, comparable to Spain’s total installed generation capacity. Meeting this demand requires unprecedented investment and advances in both computing and energy infrastructure.
As a global market leader in transformers, high-voltage technology, digitalised grids, and service, Hitachi Energy is investing $9 billion USD globally, which the company says is the largest in the industry, to expand manufacturing, R&D, engineering, and partnerships. This includes a historic $1 billion USD investment to advance the production of critical grid solutions in the U.S. The investments will be critical to meeting energy needs, including AI data centres and supporting a robust, future-ready electric grid.
