Solving the Data Centre Power Problem

­Welcome to the October issue of Power Systems Design Europe. Our Special Report in this month’s issue looks at IoT and Smart Cities. It is a hugely relevant topic, and one that will set power designers multiple challenges in the coming years, if not decades. Smart cities are just one aspect of the IoT, which also encompasses many other areas, such as healthcare, industry and energy generation. These disciplines also come together in smart cities, where digital technologies are used to improve the lives of residents and businesses.

There are two aspects of any IoT implementation; on the minute scale at the edge, where billions of sensors take measurements. These sensors are usually arranged in clusters and connected to a microprocessor and a wireless communications device. They normally operate on tiny amounts of power supplied by batteries or energy scavenged from the environment. Here designers work at the nanoscale, wringing every last joule of energy from the power source.

At the opposite end of the spectrum, the data collected by the sensors is sent to a data centre. Here, the amounts of power used to process and store the data are enormous, and increasing all of the time. The problem, at least for power designers, is that data centre operators want to fit more and more processors into a single rack form factor, and those processors have better and better performance, using more and more power to operate.

In 2022, the International Energy Agency (IEA), estimated that data centres accounted for up to 2% of global electricity demand, which represents around 460 TWh. In the near term future, that will more than double, with the IEA predicting cabinets will dissipate 100 kW from around 30-40 kW today as AI processing becomes more widespread. The rack space allocated to the power supply will remain much the same as now, meaning that even more extreme levels of power density will be required.

The two articles in this month’s Special Report look at improving power density in data centres. The first article comes from onsemi, and it details how each component must be efficient as possible, especially the MOSFETs used in the conversion. It goes on to explain how the company’s PowerTrench T10 MOSFETs are the ideal solution for that power conversion.

The second feature in this month’s Special Report was contributed by Qorvo, and it describes how power topologies have evolved in data centres. The article also looks at how cascode SiC FETs are ideal for the new topologies, while also benefitting from an easy, non-critical gate drive and robust short circuit and avalanche voltage ratings.

In addition to the features in the Special Report, this month’s issue will also include articles of general interest to power engineers in our Tech Focus section, as well as all of the latest news and views from the industry.

Best Regards,

Ally Winning

European Editor, PSD