Delta-800-VDC-Power-And-Cooling-Solutions-For-Data-Centers-Presented-by-Delta

At the 2025 OCP Global Summit, Delta Electronics presented its 800 VDC power and cooling strategy for next-generation AI data centers, co-developed with NVIDIA, Meta, Microsoft, and Google. Ralph Peeper outlined the grid-to-chip power architecture and the transition path from 50 V to 800 VDC infrastructure, targeting IT rack loads above 250 kW where 50 V bus bar currents become prohibitively large. Chong from Delta's thermal management team detailed a tiered cold-plate roadmap and a CDU product line scaling from 22 kW in-rack units up to a 2.4 MW in-row CDU planned for Q3 2026. NVIDIA's Harry Petty framed the market context, citing a Dell'Oro projection of $1 trillion in data center capex by ~2028 and a 10× ROI advantage for the GB200 NVL72 platform over lower-performance compute.

Key Takeaways

Delta co-developed the 800 VDC infrastructure standard with NVIDIA, Meta, Microsoft, and Google; at 1 MW rack power, 50 V would require 20,000 A, making 800 V the only viable path.
The 800 VDC transition follows three phases: in-row power rack with 800-to-50 V converters for existing servers (>250 kW), 800 V native servers with on-tray DCDC, and ultimately a solid-state transformer providing 3-6 MW of 800 VDC directly from the medium-voltage grid.
Delta's 800 V power shelf produces 106 kW (19-inch) or 180 kW (21-inch) from three-phase AC; the 800-to-50 V DCDC converter in the IT rack delivers 108 kW in 1U—three times the density of prior HPR shelves.
Dell'Oro projects data center capex will reach $1 trillion within a few years; a $3M NVIDIA GB200 NVL72 investment generates $30M token revenue over three years versus $8M from free but lower-performance compute.
Cold plate designs scale from simple embedded tubes (<20 W/cm²) through cross-flow fins and impingement flow to 0.1 mm micro-channel fins with optional vapor chamber at >100 W/cm² and chip TDPs approaching 3.6 kW.
Delta's in-rack CDU roadmap reaches 250 kW (L-to-L, Q1 2026); the in-row CDU roadmap includes a 1.5 MW stacked unit (Q1 2026) and a native 2.4 MW 800 VDC L-to-L CDU with an in-house DC pump (Q3 2026).
The long-term 800 VDC architecture enables direct integration of renewable energy sources (fuel cell, solar, wind) and central battery storage, supporting carbon neutrality in gigawatt-scale AI data centers.