The surge in generative AI, large language models, and accelerated computing has triggered a new kind of data centre competition, one defined by density, speed, and sustainability.
Across the world, data centre capacity is set to triple by 2030. As GPU-powered servers replace traditional compute nodes, rack densities are climbing from 10–15 kW to well beyond 100 kW. This escalation in power and thermal loads has exposed the limitations of conventional designs, putting pressure on utilities, cooling systems, and sustainability targets alike.
The opportunity, and the challenge, extend far beyond the hyperscalers. Enterprises are now deploying smaller, high-density AI clusters at the edge to enable real-time insights in sectors including healthcare, retail, logistics, and manufacturing. These compact 1 to 4 rack environments face the same intensity of compute and cooling challenges as their cloud-scale counterparts, but in tighter spaces and with stricter energy limits.
As AI pushes performance boundaries, the question facing every infrastructure leader is the same: how can we expand compute capacity without expanding carbon impact?
Time to rethink the infrastructure
The data centre industry has reached a turning point. Traditional models that treat power, cooling, and IT as separate domains no longer deliver the efficiency, reliability, or scalability needed for AI workloads. The complexity of next-generation architecture demands integrated thinking.
Responding to this shift, Schneider Electric has introduced a “Grid to Chip, Chip to Chiller” framework. It reframes infrastructure design as a continuous system, connecting energy sourcing, power distribution, cooling, and digital management under one coordinated framework. The result is a design philosophy that scales efficiently across environments, from multi-megawatt hyperscale facilities to edge deployments in enterprise campuses.
In practice, this means reviewing every part of the value chain. Power systems must handle higher density, fluctuating loads. Cooling must move from air-based to hybrid and liquid models. Energy strategies must align with renewables and strengthen grid resilience. By managing these factors as one connected system, operators can achieve high performance without compromise.
For IT leaders, this shift is not just about adopting new technology; it’s about building new architecture.
How Schneider is scaling sustainably
The AI boom is pushing data centres to their limits. Every new GPU rack adds heat and power draw, and the race to scale risks deepening the global energy gap. Schneider Electric believes sustainability has to be designed in from the start.
Efficiency extends across the power chain. Schneider’s “Grid to Chip, Chip to Chiller” philosophy links every layer, including power distribution, cooling, and IT, through EcoStruxure monitoring software. Operators gain real-time visibility to fine-tune performance and lower the energy cost per watt.
Cooling systems, which account for the largest energy consumption in a data centre, are evolving fast. Hybrid and liquid-cooling systems, including Uniflair chillers, CDUs, and rear-door exchangers, remove heat directly at the source, enabling AI workloads beyond 70 kW per rack while reducing energy use.
Meeting the requirements for hybrid and edge computing
To accelerate deployment, Schneider has expanded its modular and prefabricated data centre portfolio. Pre-engineered modules arrive factory-tested and ready to integrate, reducing construction time by up to 30 percent. These modules are now critical for edge environments, for enterprise campuses, industrial sites, and remote regions where latency and reliability matter but grid access can be limited. With consistent energy and thermal performance built in, operators can replicate designs quickly without compromising sustainability.
Software and data complete the loop. The EcoStruxure platform connects energy, cooling, and IT systems into a single operational view. Microgrid Advisor balances power from the grid, on-site renewables, and storage to optimise cost and carbon footprint. EcoStruxure IT and Resource Advisor collect live performance and emissions data, helping CIOs meet transparency and regulatory targets.
Organisations today need to be able to efficiently deploy and manage their IT infrastructure and power protection as they scale to more locations. These initiatives together enable Schneider to cover the entire IT and hybrid environment and ensure a resilient, secure, and sustainable IT infrastructure.
Building for speed, density, and innovation
The AI era demands infrastructure that can be built fast, scaled predictably, and operated efficiently. Speed to market is now a competitive differentiator, especially as organisations race to deploy AI capacity before demand overtakes supply.
Schneider Electric’s prefabricated modular data centres address this need. Delivered as complete, pre-tested systems, they can reduce deployment times by up to 30 percent compared to traditional builds. Each module integrates optimised power and cooling for high-density racks, enabling rapid expansion across both central and edge locations.
Liquid cooling now forms the foundation of high-performance AI infrastructure. Following its acquisition of Motivair, Schneider has strengthened its “Chip to Chiller” portfolio with advanced Coolant Distribution Units (CDUs), rear-door heat exchangers, and heat dissipation units designed to manage thermal loads of 40–100 kW per rack. This technology is redefining how facilities handle the thermodynamics of accelerated computing.
Power efficiency has also advanced. The newly launched Galaxy VXL UPS delivers industry-leading efficiency in a compact footprint, supporting AI, industrial, and edge applications with minimal energy loss. Combined with intelligent monitoring software, it represents how Schneider’s ecosystem blends hardware and digital intelligence to maximise uptime and performance.
Collaborations with NVIDIA on reference designs for AI-ready facilities, including the DGX SuperPOD architecture, provide blueprints for standardised, high-density deployment. Schneider’s engagement across cloud, chip, and cooling partners ensures interoperability and speed at every stage of the value chain.
Further, Schneider Electric has expanded its collaboration with NVIDIA with two new reference designs. The first delivers an industry-first integrated control architecture that unifies liquid-cooling and power-management systems with NVIDIA Mission Control via a plug-and-play MQTT framework. This enables real-time telemetry, digital-twin modelling, and streamlined orchestration across cooling and power assets. The second is a facility-level design for NVIDIA GB300 NVL72 systems, supporting up to 142 kW per rack and providing end-to-end guidance across power, cooling, IT space, and lifecycle software.
Complementing these design blueprints, Schneider Electric is developing an 800 VDC sidecar with NVIDIA that delivers up to 1.2 MW per rack, with modular conversion shelves, integrated energy storage, and Live Swap capability for safe maintenance. Advanced modelling, arc-flash analysis, and lab testing support this system-level design, ensuring predictable performance and easier scaling as power densities increase.
Together, these solutions provide a validated foundation for AI factories and help operators prepare for the power and cooling demands of next-generation GPU systems.
A smarter and sustainable future
AI doesn’t have to be energy intensive; it can be energy intelligent. The future of data infrastructure depends on the industry’s ability to design systems that match AI’s ambition with environmental accountability.
For Schneider Electric, that vision means enabling customers to plan, build, and operate AI-ready data centres that perform sustainably. Whether powering a hyperscale AI factory or a 1-rack enterprise inference node, the aim is to deliver compute without compromise.
The next-generation AI infrastructure will be driven by intelligence. From cloud and colocation facilities to enterprise campuses and edge sites, integrated energy strategies, digital tools, and advanced thermal design are making AI systems smarter, cleaner, and faster. The future of AI isn’t just about processing power; it’s about the power to process responsibly.
Schneider Electric is your energy technology partner, electrifying, automating and digitalising every industry, business and home, driving efficiency and sustainability for all. Discover how Schneider Electric can help transform your AI infrastructure.
