New Delhi, December 06,
2024 : Schneider Electric, the leader in the digital transformation of energy management and
automation, has today accelerated its end-to-end AI-ready data center
solutions with new announcements that
address the urgent energy and sustainability challenges driven by
high demand for AI systems.
The first
part of the announcement is a new data center reference
design,
co-developed with NVIDIA, which will support liquid-cooled, high-density AI
clusters of up to 132 kW per rack. Optimized for NVIDIA’s GB200 NVL72 and
Blackwell chips, the design streamlines planning and deployment with proven,
validated architectures, addressing the unique challenges of utilizing liquid
cooling at-scale.
Additionally, Schneider Electric has today introduced its new Galaxy VXL uninterruptible power supply (UPS), the
industry’s most compact, high-density UPS designed for AI, data center, and
large-scale electrical workloads. Galaxy VXL UPS offers 52% space savings
compared with the industry average, and with a power density of up to 1042
kW/m², this scalable, 1.25 MW modular UPS is designed to deliver more efficient
power in a smaller, high-density footprint.
Both innovations form part of Schneider Electric’s end-to-end, AI-ready data center solutions,
which focus on three key areas including developing an energy strategy
for the AI era; deploying advanced infrastructure; and sustainability
consulting. They seek to benefit data center owners and operators as they
deploy energy efficient, high-density infrastructure to support AI workloads as
sustainably as possible.
“The energy and environmental impact of AI is growing at unprecedented
pace, and it’s paramount we bend the energy curve downward by finding new ways
to decarbonize data centers and the digital infrastructure,” said Pankaj
Sharma, Executive Vice President, Data Centers & Networks at Schneider
Electric. “At Schneider Electric, we are committed to pushing boundaries,
setting new standards, and shaping the future of AI, whilst protecting the
environment. This requires a strategic approach from the grid to the chip, to
the chiller, and beyond.”
Partnership With NVIDIA
Schneider Electric’s newest data center reference design has been co-developed with NVIDIA to support
liquid-cooled, AI clusters, while addressing the unique challenges of deploying
liquid cooling within hyperscale, colocation and enterprise data center
environments.
Building on the companies’ partnership, the reference design includes
options for liquid-to-liquid Coolant Distribution Units (CDUs) and
direct-to-chip liquid cooling, and shares comprehensive mechanical and
electrical plans to ensure more energy efficient and sustainable operations for
the AI data centers of the future.
Developed using Schneider Electric’s software tools including Ecodial and EcoStruxure™
IT Design CFD, the design can be
customized to meet specific requirements of the AI workload, while helping
users to leverage the most sustainable and energy efficient infrastructure
designs for high-density applications.
“Building the future of accelerated computing and AI requires speed and
a bedrock foundation," said Jensen Huang, founder and CEO of NVIDIA. “Our
work with Schneider Electric enables customers to design the world’s
technological advances on stable and resilient infrastructure. Together, we’re
creating AI data centers that are purpose-built for accelerated computing,
supporting complex architectures that are essential to deliver digital
intelligence to every company and industry.”
End-to-End AI Data Center Solutions
The
announcements made at today’s virtual event bolster Schneider
Electric’s commitments to creating comprehensive, sustainable, and end-to-end AI-ready
data center solutions, helping customers to decarbonize their digital
infrastructure anywhere, globally. They focus on three key areas including:
Energy Strategy for The AI
Era: Schneider Electric supports
companies in securing renewable energy and optimizing on-site power generation
with diverse sources like wind, solar, and hydrogen. It provides services such
as site selection and geographical analysis based on customers’ deployment
plans and enables on-site power generation through AlphaStruxure, which ensures speed to market, reliability,
resilience, and sustainability of chosen power sources.
Advanced Infrastructure
Solutions: Schneider Electric has
developed a comprehensive portfolio of high-density, energy-efficient
infrastructure systems for a host of AI requirements exceeding 100kW per rack.
This includes data center infrastructure components from grid-to-chip and
chip-to-chiller, AI-powered remote monitoring and energy management software,
and digital services for lifecycle optimization.
Schneider Electric’s
new Galaxy VXL UPS, announced today, is the latest addition to the company’s
end-to-end, advanced infrastructure portfolio. For the first time, this new UPS
provides customers 1.25mw scalable and modular solution with 125kw/3U power
modules in 1.2m2 footprint, while being capable of supporting up to 1.25 MW of
critical load in one frame and up to 5 MW with 4 units in parallel in only 4.8
M2 space.
Additionally, to address
the increased temperatures of high-density workloads, Schneider Electric
recently signed an agreement to acquire a majority stake in the Motivair
Corporation, enhancing its liquid cooling portfolio and strengthening its
expertise in direct-to-chip liquid cooling and high-capacity thermal solutions.
Efficiency and Sustainability: Schneider Electric’s Sustainability Consulting business helps customers exceed decarbonization goals via tailored sustainability
strategies, emissions assessments, and supplier engagement programs. These
global consulting services offer customers data-driven insights via EcoStruxure
Resource Advisor, and
are supported by 2,400 experts in 100+ countries.
Bending The Energy Curve of AI
Schneider Electric also
advocates for a science-based approach to "bend the curve" of energy
consumption. Central to this approach is employing “energy intelligence for
sustainable AI”. Schneider Electric believes this can be achieved by
integrating data center infrastructure with AI-driven applications.
This way, industries can
not only mitigate AI's energy footprint but also use AI monitoring capabilities
and insights as tools for broader decarbonization efforts. Achieving this
vision requires a united commitment to deploying sustainable solutions and
leveraging AI’s potential to drive efficiency across all sectors.
“By 2027, data center electricity consumption is projected to account
for 2.5% of global demand, with the remaining 97.5% spread across industries
such as buildings, manufacturing, transportation, and energy," said Sean
Graham, Research Director, Cloud to Edge Datacenter Trends, IDC. "While
data centers pursue their own net-zero goals amid unprecedented growth, the
real sustainability promise lies in leveraging AI to decarbonize entire value
chains across industries. As Schneider Electric and NVIDIA have demonstrated,
long-term collaboration and innovation are essential to driving efficiency and
sustainability.”
For more information about Schneider Electric’s new reference design, co-developed with NVIDIA, its Galaxy VXL UPS or its end-to-end, AI-ready data center solutions, visit the website.
About Schneider
Electric
Schneider’s purpose
is to create Impact by empowering all to make the most of our energy
and resources, bridging progress and sustainability for all. At Schneider,
we call this Life Is On.
Our mission is to be the
trusted partner in Sustainability and Efficiency.
We are a global
industrial technology leader bringing world-leading expertise in
electrification, automation and digitization to smart industries,
resilient infrastructure, future-proof data centers,
intelligent buildings, and intuitive homes. Anchored by
our deep domain expertise, we provide integrated end-to-end lifecycle AI
enabled Industrial IoT solutions with connected products, automation, software
and services, delivering digital twins to enable profitable growth for
our customers.
We are a people
company with an ecosystem of 150,000 colleagues and more than a million
partners operating in over 100 countries to ensure proximity to our customers
and stakeholders. We embrace diversity and inclusion in
everything we do, guided by our meaningful purpose of a sustainable
future for all.
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