Nearly all data centers use AC utility power with multiple conversions before reaching the compute load. Power enters as medium-voltage AC (1 to 35 kilovolts), is stepped down to low-voltage AC (480 or 415 volts), converted to DC in a UPS, inverted back to AC, and converted again to low-voltage DC (typically 54 V) at the server. Traditional racks draw around 10 kW while AI racks approach 1 MW, increasing losses and copper requirements; a 1-MW rack could require 200 kilograms of copper busbar per an Nvidia blog cited in the report (https://spectrum.ieee.org/data-center-dc).

Converting 13.8-kV AC grid power directly to 800 V DC at the data center perimeter eliminates intermediate steps. This enables 85 percent more power through the same conductor size, reduces copper requirements by 45 percent, improves efficiency by 5 percent, and lowers total cost of ownership by 30 percent for gigawatt-scale facilities. At the rack, compact DC-to-DC converters step voltage down for GPUs and CPUs, according to Vertiv and Eaton statements in the article (https://spectrum.ieee.org/data-center-dc).

Vertiv plans commercial availability of its 800-V DC ecosystem for Nvidia Vera Rubin Ultra in the second half of 2026. Eaton is developing a medium-voltage solid-state transformer; Delta has released 800-V DC in-row 660-kW power racks with 480 kW of battery backup. An Omdia report notes higher-voltage DC data centers in China while the Mt. Diablo Initiative tests 400-V DC racks; NEMA's Patrick Hughes states the industry requires coordinated standards and supply chain development (https://spectrum.ieee.org/data-center-dc).