Schneider Electric has announced new solutions to tackle the growing energy and sustainability challenges posed by the increasing demand for AI systems.
The company has introduced two key innovations aimed at decarbonising digital infrastructure and enabling more sustainable, AI-ready data centre solutions.
Firstly, Schneider Electric has developed a new data centre reference design in collaboration with NVIDIA.
This design supports liquid-cooled, high-density AI clusters of up to 132 kW per rack, optimised for NVIDIA’s GB200 NVL72 and Blackwell chips.
The reference design aims to streamline planning and deployment with proven, validated architectures, addressing the unique challenges of utilizing liquid cooling at scale.
Secondly, the company has launched the Galaxy VXL uninterruptible power supply (UPS), touted as the industry’s most compact, high-density power protection system for AI, data centres, and large-scale electrical workloads.
The Galaxy VXL UPS offers 52 per cent space savings compared to the industry average and boasts a power density of up to 1042 kW/m².
These innovations are part of Schneider Electric’s comprehensive approach to AI-ready data centre solutions, which focuses on three key areas:
- Developing an energy strategy for the AI era
- Deploying advanced infrastructure
- Providing sustainability consulting
Pankaj Sharma, Executive Vice President of Data Centres & Networks at Schneider Electric, emphasised the importance of these developments, stating: “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 decarbonise data centres and the digital infrastructure.”
The partnership with NVIDIA extends beyond the reference design, with NVIDIA’s founder and CEO, Jensen Huang, highlighting the collaboration’s significance: “Our work with Schneider Electric enables customers to design the world’s technological advances on stable and resilient infrastructure.”
Schneider Electric’s end-to-end AI data centre solutions also include services for securing renewable energy, optimising on-site power generation, and providing sustainability consulting.
The company recently signed an agreement to acquire a majority stake in Motivair Corporation, enhancing its liquid cooling portfolio and expertise in direct-to-chip liquid cooling solutions.
As the demand for AI continues to grow, Schneider Electric advocates for a science-based approach to mitigate AI’s energy footprint while leveraging its potential to drive efficiency across various sectors.
Sean Graham, Research Director at IDC, noted the importance of such initiatives, stating: “While data centres pursue their own net-zero goals amid unprecedented growth, the real sustainability promise lies in leveraging AI to decarbonise entire value chains across industries.”
These latest announcements from Schneider Electric represent a significant step forward in addressing the energy and sustainability challenges faced by the rapidly expanding AI industry, offering solutions that aim to balance technological advancement with environmental responsibility.