Envision Energy says it has completed the first commercial deployment of an integrated 800-volt DC power system at a data centre, testing the technology at its Galaxy AI data centre in Ulanqab, Inner Mongolia, since August. The Chinese company says the system, built around its Dubhe Controller and supported by its Dubhe Energy Foundation Model, offers a simpler and more efficient power architecture and will support higher computing density at the site.
According to the company, the Dubhe technology converts power directly from 10kV medium-voltage AC to an 800V DC bus. Conventional data centres rely on several power-conversion stages to turn grid supply into a usable supply; Envision says its approach improves efficiency and sharply reduces the size of the power conversion equipment.
Envision describes the system as resting on three capabilities: solid-state transformer conversion from 10kV medium voltage to the 800V DC bus across operating conditions; battery storage providing both second-scale power support and minute-scale backup; and millisecond-level coordination between the transformer and the storage to absorb GPU load fluctuations locally.
The integrated battery support is intended to respond quickly to spikes in AI workloads and to provide short-term backup power. Envision says the design also allows denser AI racks, packing more computing power into the same floor area, requires less copper and other cabling, and works well with renewable energy sources and storage. The AI-driven power management in the Dubhe controller balances supply against computing demand.
The Galaxy campus is planned to scale to 3GW of capacity, and Envision says the site will eventually "support up to one million AI accelerators." The company also intends to roll out the 800V DC technology at its Mission Gobi initiative, which targets 5GW of green AI data centre capacity in desert regions by 2030.
The claims are Envision's own account of how the system is performing; Tom's Hardware reports them from a company press release.
Analysis
Why This Matters
- Power delivery, not just chip supply, is becoming a constraint on how large AI data centres can grow, and Envision's approach targets that bottleneck directly.
- If the efficiency and footprint claims hold at scale, denser racks and less cabling and conversion equipment could change how AI campuses are designed and where they can be built.
- Envision's stated 3GW Galaxy target and 5GW Mission Gobi ambition set out how much capacity the company believes its power architecture can underpin by 2030.
Background
Data centres have traditionally taken power from the grid and stepped it through multiple conversion stages before it reaches computing equipment, with each stage carrying losses and requiring bulky hardware. As AI workloads have grown more demanding, operators and equipment makers have looked at simplifying that chain, including by distributing power at higher DC voltages closer to the way servers and accelerators use it. Envision Energy is a Chinese company known for wind turbines and energy storage, and it is now positioning its power electronics and management software for AI data centre customers.
What to Watch
- Whether independent verification or third-party operators confirm the efficiency, footprint and reliability figures Envision reports from the Ulanqab site.
- Progress on the Galaxy campus toward its planned 3GW capacity and on the first deployments under the Mission Gobi initiative.
- Whether other data centre operators and power equipment suppliers follow with their own high-voltage DC designs, and how regulators and grid operators treat direct medium-voltage connections at this scale.
Checked
11 claims in this story checked against 1 source: 10 supported.
Show each claim
- SupportedEnvision says it completed the first commercial deployment of an integrated 800-volt DC power system at a data centre.Latest from Tom's Hardware: “Envision Energy says that it has completed the world’s first commercial data center deployment of an integrated 800-volt DC power system.”
- SupportedThe Dubhe system converts grid power directly to an 800V DC bus.Latest from Tom's Hardware: “Envision’s Dubhe tech converts power directly from 10kV medium-voltage AC to an 800V DC bus”
- SupportedThe Galaxy campus is planned to scale to 3GW of capacity.Latest from Tom's Hardware: “The Galaxy campus will scale to 3GW capacity according to current plans”
- Partly supportedEnvision has been testing the technology at the Galaxy site since August.Latest from Tom's Hardware: “It has been testing the Dubhe Controller, supported by its Dubhe Energy Foundation Model since August this year at its Galaxy AI data center in Ulanqab, Inner Mongolia, China.”
- SupportedThe testing site is Envision’s Galaxy AI data centre in Ulanqab, Inner Mongolia.Latest from Tom's Hardware: “at its Galaxy AI data center in Ulanqab, Inner Mongolia, China.”
- SupportedEnvision says the system offers a simpler, more efficient power architecture.Latest from Tom's Hardware: “Touted as offering simpler, and more efficient power architecture, Envision’s system will also support higher computing density, says a press release .”
- SupportedThe system converts power from 10kV medium-voltage AC to an 800V DC bus.Latest from Tom's Hardware: “Envision’s Dubhe tech converts power directly from 10kV medium-voltage AC to an 800V DC bus”
- SupportedThe system’s battery storage provides second-scale power support and minute-scale backup.Latest from Tom's Hardware: “Battery storage providing both second-scale power support and minute-scale backup.”
- SupportedThe transformer and storage coordinate at millisecond level to absorb GPU load fluctuations locally.Latest from Tom's Hardware: “Millisecond-level coordination between SST and storage to absorb GPU load fluctuations locally.”
- SupportedEnvision says the Galaxy campus will eventually “support up to one million AI accelerators.”Latest from Tom's Hardware: “The Galaxy campus will scale to 3GW capacity according to current plans, and eventually “support up to one million AI accelerators.””
- SupportedEnvision intends to roll out the technology at Mission Gobi, which targets 5GW of green AI data-centre capacity in desert regions by 2030.Latest from Tom's Hardware: “Envision also intends to roll out this 800V DC tech at its Mission Gobi initiative, targetting 5GW of green AI data center capacity in desert regions by 2030.”
