ABB has introduced Infinitus, a new portfolio of direct current (DC) power solutions aimed at meeting the rapidly growing energy requirements of AI data centers. The company says the portfolio is designed to support wider adoption of DC power architectures, helping data centers improve energy efficiency, reduce the physical footprint of power infrastructure and make more capacity available for computing. ABB also expects DC technology to gain traction in other industries with high energy demands.
According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), electricity consumption from data centers worldwide is expected to more than double by 2030. ABB estimates that around 25% to 40% of newly installed data center capacity by that year could use DC distribution. The growing power requirements of AI hardware are a major factor behind this shift, with next-generation AI chips potentially requiring 1 MW or more per rack, compared with roughly 200 kW today.
ABB says 800 VDC distribution can provide a more compact power infrastructure by removing unnecessary conversion stages and reducing the heat losses associated with conventional alternating current (AC) systems. A recent BCG and ABB study found that DC distribution could improve energy efficiency by more than 5% while also creating additional space for computing racks.
For a 500 MW data center, a 5% efficiency improvement could free up around 25 MW for revenue-generating IT equipment. ABB estimates this could translate into more than $300 million in potential additional annual revenue. At the same efficiency level, the energy saved across a 500 MW data center campus in one year would be comparable to the electricity consumption of a regional city in India for nearly a week.
India is among the world’s fastest-growing data centre markets, with installed capacity already around 2 GW and set to reach 6-8 GW by 2029–30. Hyperscalers, AI workloads and rapid enterprise digitalisation are driving this expansion. As power density demands climb, operators are prioritising energy utilisation, operational efficiency, AI readiness and sustainability across the data centre infrastructure ecosystem. ABB’s Infinitus direct current portfolio addresses these evolving needs by reducing energy conversion losses, improving power utilization and enabling more efficient use of electrical infrastructure.
Giampiero Frisio, President of ABB’s Electrification business area, said: “ABB has pioneered DC technology for more than 25 years across several segments. We are working closely with chipmakers, hyperscale customers, supply partners and industry bodies to set the standards and the pace for the roll-out of high-efficiency DC architectures. Infinitus is the first portfolio providing the building blocks for any data center architecture – either DC native or hybrid AC/ DC – to power next-generation AI chips efficiently. This technology will bring similar energy efficiency gains to other energy-intensive industries such as large scale manufacturing, renewables and marine operations.”
Infinitus is the industry’s first integrated source-to-rack DC portfolio. At its core is ABB’s breakthrough Infinitus solid-state transformer technology, enabling sites to operate with a smaller footprint and greater energy efficiency. As the only major electrification supplier with both the world’s first fully IEC-certified solid-state circuit breaker and an industry-first static medium-voltage UPS in production, ABB delivers a breadth of technology unmatched in the market.
ABB’s Infinitus DC portfolio includes five key building blocks:
- Medium Voltage Powertrains deliver stable resilient power from the grid or on-site generation;
- DC Sources and Power Quality converts AC to DC removing conversion from white space;
- DC Power Distribution delivers power safely and reliably, enabling higher power density in a smaller footprint;
- DC Power Protection provides protection for operators, AI servers and hardware from DC overcurrents;
- Cooling Optimization reduces energy consumption across grey and white space with DC connected variable speed drives and motors.
ABB works with customers to design solutions tailored to their specific power demands, facility layout, and energy mix. This partnership approach ensures each deployment is optimized for maximum efficiency and reliability. The Infinitus DC portfolio complements traditional AC systems with DC flexibility that supports customers across all power architectures while also enabling unprecedented efficiency, reliability, and scalability for AI-era data centers.
For next-generation data centers, this integrated architecture enables the high-density, high-efficiency power delivery that future AI chips demand. With a number of main components produced in the next twelve months, the first DC-native facilities using the complete Infinitus DC portfolio are expected to be installed and operational within two to three years.
The portfolio launch extends support for ABB’s continued collaboration with NVIDIA, first announced in October 2025, to develop 800 VDC power architectures for gigawatt-scale AI facilities. ABB brings more than 25 years of DC experience and over 700 patents spanning renewables, power generation, energy storage, motors and drives.
