As AI Power Usage Surges, Companies Reveal Special Products

Recently we reported on big tech companies Google and Microsoft consuming more electricity than over 100 nations worldwide.

While the two artificial intelligence (AI) industry leaders also brought in substantial revenue that contributed to economic growth, the rise in energy usage came courtesy of an increase in AI adoption and generative AI model training and development.

However, the rise in power consumption did raise concerns about the growing energy demands, which will only keep increasing as industries continue to adopt AI technologies and its wide range of benefits.

This is why companies such as Vertiv, a multinational provider of critical infrastructure and services for data centers and other components, as well as chip manufacturers Samsung and SK Hynix are making moves to address concerns arising from the anticipated growth of energy consumption.

So, what moves are other companies making to adjust to the rise in artificial intelligence-driven power consumption? Let’s explore!
 

What Did Vertiv Announce?

 

• Through a news release published on its website, Vertiv unveiled its Trinergy UPS, an uninterruptible power supply (UPS) specially designed to handle the fluctuating load demands of data centers.

• The move comes as the global electricity demand from data centers is expected to double by 2026.

• The rise in demand is believed to be due to high computing and cooling requirements from AI and HPC (high-performance computing), for which robust backup power solutions are needed to provide continuous availability of the GPUs and CPUs that run AI compute.

• As per the company, the Trinergy UPS delivers a double conversion efficiency of up to 97.1%, going up to 99% with Dynamic Online mode, while also reducing cooling system consumption, energy dissipation and operating and TCO costs.

• The Vertiv Trinergy UPS comes in 1500, 2000 and 2500 kVA capacities and is available globally.

• The UPS is further enhanced when integrated with Vertiv PowerBoard Switchgear through its new Vertiv PowerNexus solution, which is “a space-saving power-packed solution, seamlessly merging load protection and power distribution.”

• The integration further facilitates a reduction in cabling materials, installation time and installation labor costs.

• Through additional features such as the Dynamic Grid Support, the Vertiv EPMS (energy and power monitoring system) and other services, users can gather even more benefits.

 

What Did Vertiv Executives Say?

 

• Kyle Keeper, SVP of Power Management Global Business Unit at Vertiv, said, “High-capacity power in a highly reliable system design is critical for data-intensive AI and HPC applications.”

• [Contd.] “Leveraging over 40 years of innovation, Vertiv Trinergy UPS offers the resilience essential for operations to become future-ready and to support AI loads.”

• [Contd.] “It delivers the flexibility required to adapt to various AI applications and is designed to integrate seamlessly with different prime and backup power sources, lithium-ion and nickel-zinc batteries, and alternative distributed energy sources, including fuel cells and long duration batteries (BESS).”

 

What Is Samsung And SK Hynix Doing?

 

• With an incoming shift of AI development moving from speed and capacity focused semiconductors to energy efficient ones, Samsung and SK Hynix are expanding to produce low-power chips.

• This movement is being led by the two companies investing in the research and development of LPDDR or LowPower Double Data Rate Memory, which enables faster data processing and lowered energy consumption.

• In more recent trends, the two companies have been experimenting with LPDDR stacking technology, where multiple LPDDR are stacked with the aim of increasing capacity and reducing energy consumption.

• As per a report, Samsung developed LPDDR5X (7th generation), a low-power DRAM chip with the fastest data processing speeds up to date, in April.

• Furthermore, endeavors are underway to use next-generation materials such as glass to boost energy efficiency.

• Such low-consumption chips are vital for devices such as smartphones, laptops and tablets, which can carry out high AI computations while saving battery.

• According to semiconductor industry insider, “Low-power semiconductors can extend battery life in mobile devices and reduce the energy required for data processing in servers. As power supplies become scarcer, low-power semiconductors will become even more important.”

Do you think these moves by Vertiv, Samsung and SK Hynix will help the companies grow their market share? Do you think other AI chip companies and AI infrastructure manufacturers should make similar moves?

Let us know in the comments below!