Alderbuck Energy plans to deploy its Nexus Power Unit (NPU) medium-voltage solid-state transformer platform at the San Diego Supercomputer Center (SDSC) at UC San Diego, as part of a California Energy Commission-funded effort focused on grid-interactive, flexible data centers. The project is set up to generate operational field data on a 12 kV AC-to-800 VDC power architecture aimed at high-density AI data centers.
The deployment sits within the project titled “Accelerating Grid-Interactive, Flexible Data Centers in California.” Alderbuck’s NPU is described as a medium-voltage solid-state transformer (SST) platform intended to support an 800 VDC distribution approach fed from medium-voltage AC. The demonstration will evaluate targets that include a 4% energy-efficiency improvement, more than 50% reduction in power equipment footprint, and more than 50% faster power-system installation, compared with a conventional 480 V AC data center power architecture.
For data center electrical design teams, the interesting part isn’t the 800 VDC headline by itself—it’s the claim that a medium-voltage-to-DC architecture can materially shrink the electrical footprint and shorten install timelines. If the footprint and installation targets hold up in the field, that has direct implications for electrical room sizing, distribution layout, and how quickly capacity can be energized in power-constrained builds or expansions.
Before installation at SDSC, the SST will go through factory testing and utility-scale laboratory validation. UC San Diego’s DERConnect facility, a $42 million NSF-funded test facility, will run hardware-in-the-loop simulations using AI workload profiles to de-risk live operation prior to deployment in the data center environment. After deployment, the team plans to evaluate grid-responsive operation within “operator-defined reliability, workload, and service-quality constraints.”
Brian Balderston, Director of Infrastructure and Data Centers for SDSC’s Research Data Services Division, said, “The shift to 800 VDC will be one of the most significant architectural changes we’ll see in the years ahead,” adding that the architecture needs validation “in real operating conditions.”
UC San Diego is the project’s prime contractor. Partners listed include San Diego Supercomputer Center, Alderbuck Energy, San Diego Gas & Electric Company, EmeraldAI (compute orchestration software), and the Good For Others Foundation. The project also plans to produce a flexible load capacity tool for planning large DC loads, including AI data centers, EV fast charging sites, and industrial customers.
Source: Alderbuck Energy
