Practicality of Two-Stage Direct 48 V DC Power Chains at Hyperscale

Determine whether a two-stage direct 48 V DC power chain architecture can be practically implemented in hyperscale data centers with 100 MW or greater loads, accounting for the challenges posed by high currents, long distribution distances, voltage drop, cable sizing constraints, and the availability of suitable DC-rated equipment.

Background

DC-based data center architectures aim to streamline energy delivery by reducing the number of AC-DC and DC-AC conversion stages, with proposals such as 400 V DC distribution demonstrating potential efficiency gains in certain contexts (e.g., telecom or smaller data centers). However, practical gains depend on factors like grounding schemes, protection strategies, and regional compliance.

A two-stage direct 48 V DC architecture theoretically reduces conversion steps and may improve efficiency, but at hyperscale (100 MW+) the associated high currents and long distribution distances amplify concerns about voltage drop, cable sizing, and equipment availability, making its feasibility uncertain at that scale.

References

Although a two-stage power chain (e.g., direct 48\,V DC architecture) can theoretically reduce the number of conversion steps and improve efficiency, its practical use in hyperscale (100MW+) data centers remains to be verified.

— AI Load Dynamics--A Power Electronics Perspective  (2502.01647 - Li et al., 28 Jan 2025) in Section 4.2 (DC-based Power Chain Architecture)