S&T出版 List of News Articles

In October 2024, at the OCP (Open Compute Project) Global Summit 2024, it was announced that Google, Microsoft, and Meta will transition their generative AI/ML data centers to "water cooling + direct current power supply (±400Vdc)." Additionally, Nvidia announced the introduction of 800Vdc MGX racks. This means that major tech companies around the world have started developing direct current data centers, with plans to complete them by 2027 and implement them in society starting in 2028. In this seminar, an expert in direct current power supply, who introduced the world's first direct current data center at Sakura Internet in Hokkaido in 2012, will participate in the OCP APAC Summit 2025 and OCP Global Summit 2025 to grasp the latest trends. The seminar will clearly explain the latest global technology trends regarding AI/ML data centers, the required power supply systems, SST, equipment configurations, power sources, lighting equipment, cooling, and battery technologies.

The EV thermal management systems (TMS) in various regions of the world have different requirements and design characteristics based on the automotive OEMs and their suppliers and users that develop the powertrain equipment, batteries, and air conditioning in those regions. In the current diversification and evolution of electrification, various responses are being explored by different regions and companies. In the absence of a de facto standard for TMS, the common goal is to provide a TMS that is easy to standardize, highly energy-efficient, and cost-reducing while adapting to the evolution of EVs in accordance with the specific needs of each region. To assist those involved with TMS in considering their responses, we will share over 40 years of global experience related to TMS from the lecturer, covering regions such as Japan, North America, Europe, India, Asia, and China. The focus will particularly be on experiences in Europe, India, and China, where the lecturer has lived and worked, as well as multiple visits to North America and Asia. Additionally, we aim to summarize the various specifications of TMS and its components, the current diverse situations, and future directions to provide an opportunity for information sharing at this stage.

With the utilization of AI and the widespread adoption of social media, the exchange of vast amounts of data has become common even on the smartphones we use daily. On the other hand, we can easily access this data without being aware of the existence of data centers. However, it is not widely known that data centers located around the world consume enormous amounts of electricity every day. Much of the consumed power is used to directly drive the hardware, but a significant portion of the remaining power is used to cool that hardware. Data centers employ various cooling methods, including air cooling, liquid cooling, and immersion cooling. In this seminar, we will explain the characteristics, advantages, and disadvantages of each method, aiming to clarify the cooling technologies within data centers, which can be difficult to grasp as a whole, from a macro perspective. Additionally, we will discuss the various heat dissipation devices used in modules within racks, addressing each method individually. In particular, we plan to take time to clearly explain the technology trends, principles, and usage of fans and heat sinks in air cooling, cold plates in liquid cooling, and TIM (Thermal Interface Material) that facilitates heat transfer at interfaces.

In order to achieve a decarbonized society, power semiconductor technology that enhances power conversion efficiency is gaining attention. This seminar will focus on the latest trends of GaN devices that contribute to the power efficiency of AI data centers, as well as the technological innovations of SiC devices expected in the EV market. In particular, GaN excels in high-frequency and high-efficiency operation, making it an essential element for next-generation power design. On the other hand, SiC for EVs is being adopted in applications such as onboard inverters due to its high voltage and low loss characteristics, even as the market is at a standstill. However, silicon power devices still reign supreme in the current landscape. This is primarily because the performance, reliability, and pricing of next-generation power devices represented by SiC/GaN have not yet sufficiently met market demands. The seminar will provide a clear and thorough explanation of the current state and future trends of new material power device development technologies, including semiconductor elements, packaging technologies, and market forecasts, in comparison to silicon power devices, which are their strongest competitors.