The power quality management market is projected to expand from US$38.6 billion in 2024 to US$56.3 billion by 2030 (annual growth rate: 6.5%). Driving this expansion is the explosive growth of data centres, particularly AI data centres (AIDCs): global data centre power additions will surge from 10.5GW in 2024 to 40.3GW by 2030.

I. Why is Transformation Necessary?

Limitations of Traditional UPS Systems

Low Efficiency: Dual conversion (AC→DC→AC) incurs significant losses, with actual efficiency often below 80%.

Poor Reliability: Frequent failures in large UPS units compromise data centre security.

Limited Flexibility: Capable only of short-term backup power, they struggle to participate in intelligent grid management such as peak shaving.

New Demands Drive Upgrades

AI servers consume 30-40kW per rack (compared to 12-15kW for traditional systems), intensifying power quality challenges.

Policy Requirements: China mandates over 80% green electricity for new data centres by 2025, rising to 100% by 2030.

II. How Does HVDC Address These Challenges?

1. Core Advantages: Simplified Architecture, Enhanced Efficiency

Traditional UPS: AC power undergoes dual conversion (rectification and inversion) for supply, resulting in high losses.

HVDC: AC power is directly rectified into high-voltage DC (e.g., 240V/380V) for supply, reducing conversion stages and achieving over 95% efficiency.

2. Three Breakthrough Benefits

Cost Savings

Initial investment reduced by 10-30%: Streamlined equipment eliminates bulky main cabinets and complex cabling.

Long-term electricity savings of 20-40%: Efficient conversion reduces heat generation, concurrently lowering air conditioning energy consumption.

Greater Reliability

Modular design supports ‘zero downtime’ redundancy, achieving 99.9999999% (ten nines) reliability.

Batteries connect directly to the busbar, enabling seamless switching during faults.

Greener

Seamless compatibility with DC equipment like PV and energy storage, enabling integrated ‘generation-grid-load-storage’ systems.

Enables peak-off-peak electricity arbitrage: charge overnight, discharge during peak hours to reduce energy costs.

III. Future Trends: Deep Integration of High-Voltage Direct Current (HVDC) and Energy Storage

Next-generation HVDC: Evolves towards ±400V/800V high voltage (current mainstream 240V), directly supplies rack power, further enhancing efficiency.

Intelligent energy storage management: Batteries directly connected to DC busbars, dynamically scheduled via AI algorithms to become ‘proactive energy stewards’.

Industry landscape: Companies including Zhongheng Electric (domestic leader), Vertiv (NVIDIA partner), and Delta (800V technology pioneer) compete in technological advancement.

IV. Why is this transformation significant?

HVDC represents not merely a power supply upgrade, but a catalyst for a trillion-yuan market:

For data centres: Reduces PUE (power usage effectiveness), meeting policy and cost requirements.

For the energy storage industry: Opens new blue oceans, shifting from pure backup power to value-added energy services (e.g., grid peak shaving).

For enterprises: Early adopters will define next-generation high-efficiency data centre standards.

Concise Summary: Data centres are experiencing explosive growth, where traditional UPS systems have become bottlenecks due to low efficiency and poor reliability. HVDC simplifies power supply architecture (AC → DC directly to equipment), achieving efficiency >95% and reducing costs by 30%, while integrating energy storage for smart energy management. Future 800V high-voltage technology will further disrupt the industry, fostering a new ecosystem of ‘high-efficiency power supply + intelligent energy storage’.