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TL;DR
Two power deals and a new focus on 800-volt direct current show how data center infrastructure is adapting to AI’s growing electricity needs. The projects point to potential roles for higher-voltage DC systems and batteries, but efficiency figures cited by vendors are not independent measurements, and grid access remains a major constraint.
Data center power infrastructure is drawing new investment as AI workloads push electricity demand higher: Vantage reserved more than 1 gigawatt of factory capacity for Heron Power solid-state transformers, and NiSource signed a 20-year supply agreement with Microsoft that adds about 1,100 megawatts of generation and a 600-megawatt battery. The developments highlight two approaches to meeting AI data centers’ needs—800-volt direct-current distribution and large-scale storage—although the deals do not establish how much power the technologies will save in operation.
Vantage’s October 21 reservation is for factory capacity to produce Heron Power solid-state transformers. The equipment is designed to convert grid power directly to 800-volt DC, with battery storage incorporated into the system to buffer changes in demand. A capacity reservation is not the same as a report that more than a gigawatt of equipment has been delivered or installed; the source material does not give a delivery schedule or identify the sites where it will be used.
Five days earlier, Indiana utility NiSource signed a 20-year power deal with Microsoft that adds about 1,100 MW of generation and a 600 MW battery, according to the source report. The agreement shows a data center customer and utility planning supply and storage over a long period. The information provided does not specify the generation technology, project locations, construction timetable or how costs will be allocated.
The technical case for 800-volt DC is that it can reduce the number of power conversions between the grid and increasingly dense computer racks. NVIDIA’s reference design calls for converting 13.8-kilovolt grid power to 800 V DC near a facility’s perimeter, then distributing DC to racks. NVIDIA says its design could use 45% less copper than 415-volt AC distribution and provide up to 5% better end-to-end efficiency than current 54-volt systems. Those are company engineering claims, not independent operating measurements. Full-scale production with NVIDIA’s Kyber systems is planned for 2027.
Infographic 01 · From grid to rack
AI racks near a megawatt are outgrowing the AC power chain.
Why the industry is moving to 800-volt direct current: fewer conversions, less copper, batteries on the main path. The numbers are vendor figures with different baselines, so they cannot be added up.
Today: many conversions
Typical AC chain from the grid to the rack
- Medium-voltage AC from the grid
- Transformer steps it down to low-voltage AC
- UPS converts to DC for the batteries and back to AC
- Distribution units feed the racks
- Every server power supply converts AC to DC again
Each stage loses energy, and almost all of the loss becomes heat the cooling system must remove.
800 V DC: convert once, outside
NVIDIA reference design, full-scale production planned with Kyber racks in 2027
- 13.8 kV AC from the grid
- Converted once to 800 V DC at the edge of the site, batteries on the same DC bus
- 800 V DC busway to the racks
- Stepped down inside the rack, for 1 MW racks and beyond
Bridge for existing halls: a “sidecar” cabinet next to the rack converts AC to 800 V DC, while the old chain stays in place.
Power lost per MW delivered to the rack
kW, SMA white-paper model vendor model
What NVIDIA says 800 V DC changes
NVIDIA’s engineering claims claim
Sources: NVIDIA technical blog (20 May 2025, updated 31 Jul 2025); SMA America, sponsored content in Utility Dive (26 Oct 2026). Rack density: IEA, Key Questions on Energy and AI (Apr 2026) (AI server power density 11× from 2020 to 2025, a further 4× by 2027).
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Power Design Moves Beyond the Server
AI facilities are putting pressure on power systems at the same time that equipment is becoming more demanding per rack. The International Energy Agency says AI-server power density rose 11-fold between 2020 and 2025 and is projected to quadruple again by 2027. It estimates that a rack could then draw as much power at peak as 65 households. These figures help explain why operators and suppliers are examining distribution systems designed for much larger loads than traditional server halls.
The wider electricity demand is also growing. The IEA projects global data center electricity use will rise from 485 terawatt-hours in 2025 to 950 TWh in 2030, roughly 3% of global electricity demand. In the United States, Berkeley Lab estimated that data centers used 4.4% of electricity in 2023 and could account for 6.7% to 12% by 2028. These are forecasts and estimates, not a measurement of the two projects’ future consumption.
For communities and businesses, the issue is not only how efficiently a facility uses electricity, but whether new generation, substations and connections can be built in time. The source report cites the IEA’s estimate that transformers can take two to three years to arrive and grid connections can take five to ten years in many places. Where and how the costs of new infrastructure are shared also matters to electricity customers, but the terms of the NiSource-Microsoft agreement provided here do not settle that question.
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From AC Conversion to DC Distribution
Most data centers have traditionally received alternating-current power and converted it through several stages before servers use it as low-voltage DC. Each conversion can lose energy and produce heat that cooling systems must remove. Higher-voltage DC distribution aims to simplify part of that chain, particularly as racks move beyond the tens of kilowatts toward much larger power requirements.
A separate October 26 article in Utility Dive, sponsored content from inverter maker SMA America, presented a model comparing the approaches. SMA’s white-paper model estimates that a traditional AC conversion chain delivering 1 MW loses about 80 kW, compared with about 20 kW for a design that converts medium-voltage AC to 800 V DC outside the building. Those figures are a vendor-sponsored model, not independently verified results from a deployed data center. SMA also describes a “sidecar” conversion cabinet as a way to connect 800-volt racks in existing AC halls without replacing the entire power system at once.
Batteries are relevant because AI computing loads can change quickly. The IEA says rapid power swings make storage important and estimates that data centers could have 20–25 GW of batteries by 2030. It says storage could potentially support the grid if incentives are right. That is a projection, not a confirmed installation total or a guarantee that batteries will be used for grid services.
“Leaving no room for compute”
— NVIDIA
Costs, Delivery and Savings Remain Open
The announcements do not show how much of the reserved transformer capacity will be delivered, when it will reach operating sites, or whether the NiSource-Microsoft generation and battery projects will be built on the same schedule. The source material also does not identify the generation type or provide the agreement’s pricing and cost-allocation terms.
Efficiency and copper savings remain claims tied to specific designs and comparisons. NVIDIA’s figures have not been presented here as independent measurements, and SMA’s loss estimates come from a vendor-sponsored model. Actual results could depend on facility layout, power demand, conversion equipment, battery use and operating conditions. It is also unclear how widely operators will adopt 800-volt systems or whether older facilities will rely on sidecars and other incremental changes.
Grid capacity remains a separate constraint from data center equipment. Berkeley Lab found that U.S. interconnection queues held about 2,300 gigawatts at the end of 2024, while only 13% of earlier requests were ultimately built. That figure describes queued projects, not power that is ready to serve data centers. The information provided does not establish how much new capacity these particular deals will add to the grid or how household bills may be affected.
Watch for Build-Out and Performance Data
The next evidence will come from project timelines, equipment deliveries and operating data. Vantage’s reservation will need to translate into manufactured and installed transformers before its effect on data center power systems can be measured. NVIDIA has set 2027 as the planned start for full-scale production of its Kyber systems, while the NiSource-Microsoft agreement will require further details on construction, generation and battery deployment.
Operators, utilities and regulators will also need to clarify how new infrastructure is funded and whether batteries will serve only individual facilities or provide services to the wider grid. Independent measurements of conversion losses, copper requirements and battery performance would help test vendor estimates against real operating conditions. Until those details emerge, the deals show a direction for power planning—not proof that 800-volt DC or batteries have resolved data center electricity constraints.
Key Questions
What does 800-volt DC mean for a data center?
It is a proposed way to distribute 800-volt direct current from power equipment to computer racks, reducing some conversion steps compared with conventional AC systems. NVIDIA says its reference design is intended for future high-power racks.
What did Vantage and Heron Power announce?
Vantage reserved more than 1 gigawatt of factory capacity for Heron Power solid-state transformers designed to convert grid electricity to 800-volt DC. The reservation does not by itself confirm delivery or installation of that capacity.
What is included in the NiSource-Microsoft deal?
The 20-year agreement adds about 1,100 MW of generation and a 600 MW battery, according to the source report. Details about the generation technology, project timetable and cost allocation were not provided.
Are the claimed efficiency savings independently verified?
Not in the source material. NVIDIA’s copper and efficiency figures are company engineering claims, and SMA’s AC-versus-DC loss comparison comes from a vendor-sponsored model. Independent results from operating installations were not cited.
Will batteries lower household electricity bills?
The announcements do not establish that. Batteries can store and release electricity, and the IEA says data center storage could potentially support the grid if incentives are right. The effect on household bills depends on project costs, market rules and how the storage is operated.
Source: ThorstenMeyerAI.com
