Dive Brief:

• Schneider Electric held a ribbon-cutting ceremony for a data center and microgrid laboratory at its global research and development center in Andover, Mass., the company announced Thursday.
• The facilities include a 6,000 square-foot, three-bay lab to test high-voltage power systems for AI data centers. A 1,500 square-foot microgrid lab with four 90-kilowatt grid simulators and three 45-kilowatt solar simulators will be used to simulate the power demands of about 300 homes and solar power generation for about 110 homes, Schneider said.
• Schneider Electric reported double-digit growth in its global energy management business for 2024, led by a surge in demand from data centers and other customers in North America, as the company leans into the boom in AI data center development.

Dive Insight:

Data center developments are set to attract massive investment this year, including $325 billion in investment from Amazon, Microsoft, Meta and Google parent company Alphabet.

The new microgrid lab can test electric resources like onsite solar panels, backup generators, battery energy storage systems and electric vehicle chargers in campus and office park environments, and will enable “rigorous testing for battery energy storage systems to ensure peak performance during critical periods, such as high-peak pricing or grid interruptions,” Schneider Electric said. 

It will feature a proprietary battery energy storage system Schneider Electric debuted last April and will also help test EcoStruxure Microgrid Flex solutions, the company said.

“As AI revolutionizes industries and consumers demand more data for digital services, the need for data centers continues to rapidly expand,” Schneider Electric Executive Vice President for Data Centers & Networks Pankaj Sharma said in a statement.

The latest AI data centers use powerful chips arranged in high-density server racks that are difficult or impossible to cool using traditional air-based systems, experts say. To prevent these racks from overheating, the facilities must be designed to accommodate more effective liquid cooling systems, using both water and non-water refrigerants. 

In December, Schneider Electric introduced a data center reference design in partnership with chipmaker NVIDIA. Optimized for NVIDIA’s GB200 NVL72 and Blackwell chips, the design can support liquid-cooled, high-density AI clusters using up to 132 kilowatts of power per rack and offers options for both liquid-to-liquid coolant distribution units and direct-to-chip liquid cooling systems, Schneider said when the partnership was announced. 

In October, Schneider Electric said it would take a 75% stake in liquid cooling and thermal management systems provider Motivair. That transaction is expected to close in the coming weeks, Schneider Electric CEO Olivier Blum said earlier this month.

The company has also played a role in the development of microgrids, which businesses and institutions increasingly see as a hedge against grid outages and rising electricity costs. 

“Industrial environments, businesses, municipalities, hospitals and schools are seeking resilient solutions for their energy needs, and microgrids offer a terrific solution,” Sharma said in a statement.

Schneider Electric has already designed and deployed “350-plus advanced microgrid projects,” including one serving New York-John F. Kennedy International Airport’s $9.5 billion New Terminal One project, the company said.