Innovative technologies to support very high power data centres

60% of a hyperscaler's operating costs come from electricity. Nexans develops the breakthrough technologies that reduce those costs to their physical minimum — and ensure safety at every level.

Hyperscale and gigawatt-scale data centers are emerging to meet soaring compute demands, especially driven by AI, cloud services and advanced analytics. As their footprint and power consumption increase, significant challenges arise driven by complex power architectures, rising energy density, thermal inefficiencies, and increasing sustainability pressures.
These bottlenecks translate into higher costs, longer timelines, and reduced flexibility in terms of project planning and operations. Next generation facilities are pushing the limits of traditional electrical infrastructure, both inside and outside the data center footprint.
 

High-temperature superconducting cables

High-Temperature Superconducting (HTS) cables offer a compelling solution that can radically simplify power infrastructure, reduce costs while unlocking a step change in how data centres transmit and distribute power, and redefining the overall infrastructure design:

Direct Current systems

AI driven workloads are reshaping data center electrical architectures, as high density AI and HPC racks concentrate unprecedented power levels within small footprints, with fast load variations and strict requirements on power quality and availability. Legacy AC distribution, designed for lower and predictable loads, is no longer adapted. As rack power densities move beyond 100 kW—typical of next generation AI racks—traditional 48–54 VDC distribution architectures reach their practical limits. Since all IT equipment fundamentally operates on Direct Current, rising rack power levels make multiple AC/DC conversion stages increasingly inefficient.

800 VDC architectures therefore becomes a necessity, introducing a structural shift: power is distributed directly from a shared DC backbone to IT equipment, eliminating successive conversions embedded in UPSs, PDUs and server power supplies

Combining superconductivity and 800 VDC

Considering the growing trend in modern electrical infrastructure to move towards Direct Current (DC) transmission and distribution, particularly in environments where energy efficiency and power quality are paramount, combining High-Temperature Superconducting (HTS) systems with DC systems, offers a strategic advantage.

When paired with DC systems, HTS cables can deliver electricity with zero electrical loss, enabling a new standard of efficiency and performance. 

Key advantages of HTS in DC applications include:

• Loss-free transmission across high voltage (HV), medium voltage (MV), and low voltage (LV) networks.
• Reduced energy consumption, improving sustainability and lowering operating costs.
• Smaller footprint, enabling compact installations in constrained spaces.