With the rapid rise of AI, the intelligent computing industry is experiencing explosive growth. According to the "Intelligent Computing Industry Development Research Report (2024)" by the China Telecom Research Institute, over 250 intelligent computing centers have been built or are under construction in China as of June 2024. The Action Plan for High-Quality Development of Computing Infrastructure predicts that by 2025, intelligent computing power in China will account for 35% of the total, becoming a key driver of the digital economy.
As computing power continues to surge, power supply solutions — the backbone of data centers — are facing increasing challenges. Traditional power supply systems are plagued by low efficiency, large footprints, long delivery time, and high O&M costs, making it difficult to support the rapid growth of intelligent computing.
Disadvantages of traditional power supply solutions
Amid the transition from general-purpose to intelligent computing, data centers are embracing high density, low carbon, and intelligence. However, the disadvantages of traditional power supply solutions are hampering this evolution.
- Solutions take up a lot of space, resulting in a low space usage effectiveness (SUE).
As server computing power continues to increase, IT devices in data centers demand higher power density, leading to a growing footprint for power supply equipment. For example, in a 16-kW server rack setup, using a traditional power distribution solution would result in a 1:1 ratio between the power distribution room and the IT equipment room. This would undoubtedly reduce the available space for the equipment room.
- Inefficiency wastes energy.
Green and low-carbon development is the future of data centers. The Special Action Plan for Green and Low-Carbon Data Center Development issued by multiple Chinese government departments in July 2024 stipulates that the average power usage effectiveness (PUE) of data centers in China must be below 1.5 by the end of 2025. The biggest drivers for reducing PUE are efficiency and the loss of power supply solutions.
In a traditional power supply solution, the upper limit of the full-link power supply efficiency is about 95.5%. This increases both the PUE and energy costs. Let's take as an example of a 12-MW data center in Beijing containing 1500 8-kW racks and using a 2N architecture. If the load is 50%, the coefficient of performance (COP) of air conditioners is 3.0, and the electricity fee is CNY0.75/kWh. This results in losses amounting to CNY1.86 million per year in terms of electricity cost across the power supply and distribution link.
- Delivery is slow and capacity is difficult to expand.
The rapid growth in computing power creates challenges for data center services that traditional power supply solutions struggle to address. These solutions often rely on an assembly approach that involves multiple device brands and complicated onsite installations. Delivery typically takes 28 weeks or more, and their tight integration with equipment room buildings makes capacity expansion difficult and inefficient.
- Onsite assembly leads to unpredictable engineering quality.
A regular power solution consists of many devices that are not consistent with each other and cannot be easily integrated. In addition, it is difficult to control the engineering quality due to cross-construction and complex management. This undermines the reliability and security of the entire solution.
- Low O&M efficiency, difficult troubleshooting, and delayed risk identification persist.
Traditional power supply solutions usually rely on manual O&M, which drags down efficiency. Links are invisible and cannot be detected in real time. This prevents quick fault locating. Moreover, due to the lack of proactive O&M functions, it is not possible to identify risks in advance and mitigate them.
The FusionPower9000 is the right answer in the context of intelligent computing.
The above challenges signal an urgent need for a future-proof power supply solution. Huawei's FusionPower9000 — which features a low-carbon design, flexibility, safety, and intelligence — redefines the power supply solution and lays a solid foundation for intelligent computing.
Focusing on low carbon and high efficiency, the FusionPower9000 enhances full-link efficiency and optimizes the footprint design. It achieves a full-link efficiency of up to 98.3% in S-ECO mode and an online dual-conversion efficiency of 96.1%. For a 12 MW data center, this translates to a savings of CNY15.67 million in electricity costs over ten years. Additionally, with a power density of 56.2 kW/m², it requires 30% less space than traditional solutions.
The FusionPower9000 is very flexible to deploy. For example, when deployed outdoors, it decouples the power supply from the data center building. Each power system is housed in a single container, with a plug-and-play design that simplifies capacity expansion. The standardized approach reduces the time-to-market (TTM) from 28 weeks to 18 weeks, improving efficiency and shortening the overall delivery time by 35%.
As for safety and reliability, FusionPower9000 provides comprehensive assurance through technological innovation. Over 90% of FusionPower9000 components are prefabricated, and the system is pre-integrated and pre-commissioned before factory delivery, which significantly reduces quality risks during onsite installation and commissioning. The solution adopts a distributed architecture and remote deployment, which physically isolate the power supply system from the equipment room and mitigate potential safety risks. With a 25-year service life, intensity-9 earthquake resistance, scale-12 wind resistance, and IP55 protection, the product can operate reliably under various extreme conditions.
The FusionPower9000 also features intelligent O&M. It can monitor the status of key nodes in real time using a full-link visualized management system. The solution predicts the state of health (SOH) of circuit breakers and automatically sets their parameters using AI technologies. What's more, it can proactively prevent potential risks, significantly improving O&M efficiency and reducing the need for manual interventions.
Huawei's FusionPower9000 has been widely deployed across Asia Pacific and Europe. For example, it powers the world's largest prefabricated modular data center in the Asia Pacific where it took just 12 months to deploy the first phase of the project (60 MW, 3168 racks, and 21 kW/rack).
An all-new solution fit for the era of intelligent computing, Huawei's FusionPower9000 resolves past challenges while delivering a forward-looking design. Huawei Digital Power will continue to work with its customers and partners to help data center facilities evolve toward low carbon, flexibility, safety, and intelligence, powering the digital era forward.
