Schneider Electric 800 VDC powers NVIDIA’s next-gen AI
SCHNEIDER Electric, the leader in the digital transformation of energy management and automation, today reinforced its commitment to supporting the industry’s transition to 800 VDC power architectures, which are a critical requirement for emerging high-density rack systems being adopted across next-generation data centres.
As the industry accelerates toward higher power densities and greater efficiency, Schneider Electric is actively innovating to meet these needs through a comprehensive, system-level approach that integrates power conversion, protection, and metering. This approach ensures that power systems are not only efficient but safe, resilient, and ready to scale.
“The move to 800 VDC is a natural evolution as compute density increases, and Schneider Electric is committed to helping customers make that transition safely and reliably,” said Jim Simonelli, CTO, Data Centres, Schneider Electric. “Our expertise lies in understanding the full power ecosystem, from grid to server, and designing solutions that integrate seamlessly, perform predictably, and operate safely.”
New sidecar supported by system-level approach to power innovation
The traditional 54-volt in-rack power distribution in use in today’s data centres is designed for kilowatt-scale racks and can’t support the megawatt-scale racks coming soon to modern AI factories, making scalable 800 VDC distribution systems with integrated energy storage essential.
Schneider Electric is collaborating with NVIDIA to develop an 800 VDC sidecar capable of powering racks of up to 1.2 MW to support next-generation NVIDIA GPUs and future iterations of NVIDIA accelerated computing infrastructure.
The sidecar converts AC power coming into the data centre into 800 VDC, enabling delivery of megawatt-scale rack power safely, efficiently, and with minimal material and infrastructure costs. Additionally, Schneider Electric’s sidecar:
- Delivers industry-leading efficiency
- Features modular power conversion shelves
- Is equipped with modular energy storage for short-term backup and load smoothing
- Is Live Swap capable for enhanced safety
The sidecar is backed by Schneider Electric’s signature system-level approach to power innovation.
Rather than focusing solely on individual components, Schneider Electric takes a holistic view of power infrastructure. By designing and optimising systems as a whole — including conversion technologies, intelligent metering, and integrated protection mechanisms — Schneider Electric helps customers achieve:
- Predictable, validated performance
- Simplified maintenance and scalability
- Higher operational efficiency
This system-level innovation is central to supporting high-density rack deployments that demand tighter control of power delivery and reliability.
Built on decades of safety and reliability expertise
With a long-standing reputation for advancing power reliability and safety, Schneider Electric integrates advanced modelling, simulation, and real-world lab testing to validate its solutions. This includes:
- In-depth fault current and arc flash analysis
- Certified testing environments to ensure performance in real-world conditions
- Live Swap power capabilities, enabling safe maintenance without disrupting operations
These capabilities ensure that customers can confidently deploy 800 VDC systems that meet the highest standards of operational safety and resilience.
Supporting the Industry
As part of the NVIDIA ecosystem, Schneider Electric is aligned with the broader industry shift toward next-generation architectures that demand enhanced power infrastructure.
“Scalable power architectures are the foundation for next-generation AI infrastructure that maximises both performance and efficiency,” said Dion Harris, Sr. Director, HPC, Cloud, and AI Infrastructure Solutions GTM at NVIDIA. “NVIDIA and Schneider Electric are building on our longstanding partnership to design and deliver advanced power architectures for 800 VDC systems that will run AI applications that will shape the AI industrial revolution.”
