ABB has unveiled Infinitus, a new portfolio of direct-current (DC) power solutions designed specifically to serve the rapidly increasing electricity needs of AI-driven data centers.
Why it matters: rising power demand and DC adoption
The International Energy Agency (IEA) projects that global electricity demand from data centers could more than double by 2030. ABB estimates that by the same year roughly 25–40% of newly built data center capacity may use DC power distribution.
A key driver of this growth is next-generation AI chips. ABB notes that rack-level power requirements could reach or exceed 1 MW per rack, compared with current levels around 200 kW. Meeting such demand calls for power architectures that can deliver much higher throughput while improving energy efficiency.
Benefits claimed for Infinitus
Infinitus aims to broaden the use of DC architectures in data centers while reducing the footprint of power infrastructure, increasing energy efficiency, and enabling greater compute capacity. A joint study by ABB and Boston Consulting Group (BCG) found DC distribution can improve energy efficiency by more than 5% and free up additional space for compute racks.
ABB gives an illustrative example: in a 500 MW data center, a 5% efficiency improvement would free up 25 MW of additional IT power. ABB calculates that could translate into over USD 300 million in additional annual revenue, and the energy saved in one year could nearly cover Washington D.C.'s electricity consumption for an entire week.
Technical approach and integrated offering
At the core of Infinitus is ABB’s solid-state transformer technology. The portfolio provides an integrated DC solution from the power source to the rack, built around 800 V DC distribution to reduce conversion steps and related heat losses, thereby lowering space requirements and improving efficiency.
ABB also highlights that it is the only major technology company manufacturing both the world’s first fully IEC-certified solid-state breaker and the industry’s first static medium-voltage uninterruptible power supply (UPS), a combination the company says gives it a unique market position in terms of technological breadth.
The five building blocks of Infinitus
The portfolio is structured around five integrated areas:
- Medium-voltage power systems: provide a stable connection between the grid or on-site generation and the data center.
- DC power sources and power quality: perform AC-to-DC conversion outside the IT spaces.
- DC distribution: deliver safe, reliable power with smaller footprint and higher power density.
- DC system protection: protect personnel, AI servers and other hardware from DC overcurrents.
- Cooling optimization: reduce energy use across server and support spaces using variable-speed DC drives and motors.
Flexibility, timeline and broader applicability
ABB says Infinitus can be adapted to each facility’s energy needs, layout and energy mix through close collaboration with customers. Some key components are scheduled for production within the next 12 months, and ABB expects that deployment and commissioning of the first data centers built from the ground up on fully DC architectures could occur within two to three years.
ABB also suggests the energy-efficiency benefits of DC technology could extend to other energy-intensive sectors such as large-scale manufacturing, renewable energy generation and shipping.
Strengthening cooperation with NVIDIA
The Infinitus launch further deepens ABB’s collaboration with NVIDIA, announced in October 2025. The partnership focuses on developing 800 V DC power architectures intended to serve gigawatt-scale AI facilities.
Background
ABB has been developing DC technologies for more than 25 years and states it holds over 700 patents related to these technologies, covering areas including renewable energy, power generation and storage, and motors and drives.
Giampiero Frisio, head of ABB’s Electrification business, said Infinitus is the first portfolio that provides the essential components for efficient power delivery to next-generation AI chips for both fully DC and hybrid AC/DC data center architectures, and that the technology could offer similar efficiency benefits in other energy-intensive industries.
(In short, ABB positions Infinitus as a strategic DC-based approach to future data center power delivery, aimed at meeting the higher density, efficiency and scalability demands of AI workloads.)
