ABB has launched Infinitus, a source-to-rack direct-current power portfolio for AI data centers. Its aim is to remove repeated power-conversion stages as server racks approach megawatt-scale demand, but the complete DC-native system is still two to three years from operation.
Electric grids normally deliver alternating current, while processors, batteries and many cooling controls ultimately use direct current. A data center therefore converts power several times as electricity moves from the grid to a server. Each stage occupies space, produces heat and loses some energy. The pressure rises with rack density: ABB says next-generation AI racks are expected to draw 1 megawatt or more, compared with almost 200 kilowatts today.
Five blocks move conversion away from the server hall
Infinitus packages five parts of the electrical path. A medium-voltage powertrain accepts electricity from the grid or on-site generation. A power-quality stage converts alternating current to direct current before it reaches the white space, the area that holds computing equipment. Distribution hardware then carries the DC power toward racks, protection equipment interrupts overcurrents, and DC-connected variable-speed drives control cooling motors.
The central device is a solid-state transformer. Unlike a conventional transformer built mainly from magnetic components, it uses power semiconductors to convert and regulate electricity electronically. ABB is positioning this device alongside its solid-state medium-voltage uninterruptible power supply and IEC-certified solid-state circuit breaker, so operators can combine DC-native sections with existing AC infrastructure rather than replace an entire site at once.
The portfolio turns a research and partnership direction into a named product line. ABB and NVIDIA announced work on 800-volt DC architectures in October 2025, describing a path from a medium-voltage uninterruptible power supply to DC distribution in the server room for future 1-megawatt racks. Infinitus now groups the conversion, distribution, protection and cooling pieces that would implement that path.
Projected savings and a staged rollout
ABB cites a joint report with Boston Consulting Group that calculates more than a 5 percent energy-efficiency gain from DC distribution. Applied to a hypothetical 500-megawatt campus, 5 percent equals 25 megawatts that could be redirected to computing. Those figures are scenario estimates published by the supplier and its consulting partner; ABB has not reported an independently measured end-to-end result from a complete Infinitus installation.
The launch also separates availability into stages. ABB expects several main components to enter production during the next 12 months. It expects the first facilities using the entire portfolio to be installed and operating in two to three years. Site design will still depend on power demand, layout and energy mix, while the underlying ABB-BCG report identifies fragmented standards and a shortage of DC-specific skills as adoption barriers.