- ABB introduced Infinitus, a direct current portfolio for AI data centers, designed for architecture flexibility.
- Infinitus solid-state transformers aim to maximize energy efficiency and reduce physical footprint, ABB said.
- ABB expects the Infinitus direct current portfolio to drive benefits across other industries including industrial buildings and renewables.
ZURICH, Switzerland — ABB today announced the launch of Infinitus, a new portfolio of direct current (DC) solutions. The portfolio aims to manage the increasing power demands of artificial intelligence (AI) data centers.
The company said in an emailed press release today that Infinitus will accelerate the adoption of DC architectures in data centers. This is expected to improve energy efficiency, reduce power infrastructure footprint, and increase available computing capacity. ABB expects other energy-intensive industries to make the same transition.
Addressing AI Data Center Demands
The International Energy Agency (IEA) expects global data center electricity demand to more than double by 2030. ABB estimates that approximately 25% to 40% of new capacity installed in 2030 could use DC distribution.
Next-generation AI chips are expected to draw 1 megawatt (MW) per rack, an increase from today’s almost 200 kilowatts (kW). This requires a shift to DC architecture that can support performance while driving energy efficiency. With 800 VDC distribution, the footprint is more compact. It also eliminates redundant conversion steps and cuts heat losses of conventional alternating current (AC) systems.
A recent BCG and ABB report calculated that DC distribution delivers energy efficiency gains of more than 5%. It also increases available space for compute racks. For a 500 MW data center, a 5% efficiency gain can mean 25 MW more power for revenue-generating IT loads and more than $300 million in potential additional revenue per year. The energy savings over one year for a 500 MW data center campus would be equivalent to powering Washington D.C. for almost a full week.
Giampiero Frisio, President of ABB’s Electrification business area, said ABB has pioneered DC technology for more than 25 years. He added that the company is working with chipmakers, hyperscale customers, supply partners, and industry bodies to set standards for high-efficiency DC architectures. Frisio stated that Infinitus is the first portfolio providing building blocks for any data center architecture, either DC native or hybrid AC/DC, to power next-generation AI chips efficiently. He noted this technology will bring similar energy efficiency gains to other energy-intensive industries such as large-scale manufacturing, renewables, and marine operations.
Infinitus Portfolio Components
Infinitus is the industry’s first integrated source-to-rack DC portfolio. Its core is ABB’s Infinitus solid-state transformer technology. This technology enables sites to operate with a smaller footprint and greater energy efficiency. ABB stated it is the only major electrification supplier with both the world’s first fully IEC-certified solid-state circuit breaker and an industry-first static medium-voltage UPS in production.
ABB’s Infinitus DC portfolio includes five key building blocks:
- Medium Voltage Powertrains deliver stable resilient power from the grid or on-site generation.
- DC Sources and Power Quality convert AC to DC, removing conversion from white space.
- DC Power Distribution delivers power safely and reliably, enabling higher power density in a smaller footprint.
- DC Power Protection provides protection for operators, AI servers, and hardware from DC overcurrents.
- Cooling Optimization reduces energy consumption across grey and white space with DC connected variable speed drives and motors.
ABB works with customers to design solutions tailored to specific power demands, facility layout, and energy mix. This approach aims to ensure each deployment is optimized for maximum efficiency and reliability. The Infinitus portfolio complements traditional AC systems with DC flexibility. It supports customers across all power architectures while enabling efficiency, reliability, and scalability for AI-era data centers.
Future Outlook and Collaborations
For next-generation data centers, this integrated architecture enables the high-density, high-efficiency power delivery that future AI chips demand. With a number of main components produced in the next twelve months, the first DC-native facilities using the complete Infinitus portfolio are expected to be installed and operational within two to three years.
The portfolio launch extends support for ABB’s continued collaboration with NVIDIA, first announced in October 2025. This collaboration aims to develop 800 VDC power architectures for gigawatt-scale AI facilities. ABB brings more than 25 years of DC experience and over 700 patents spanning renewables, power generation, energy storage, motors, and drives.