Artificial Intelligence Requires Real Power

­Welcome to the May edition of Power Systems Design Europe. May is the month that the whole industry turns to Nuremberg for its show-piece PCIM exhibition and conference. This year, the organizers claim that the event will be bigger than ever, covering around 40,000 square meters of exhibition space, with over 650 companies from 31 countries exhibiting. That in itself makes it worth a visit, without mentioning the world-leading conference and other events around the Messe during the week of the event. As usual, I will be there with others from PSD, so if you have something to talk about on your stand, please get in touch and we will set a meeting up. 

There is no doubt in my mind what the main topic of discussion will be in Nuremberg. Even outside the power area, artificial intelligence (AI) is currently the hottest topic in the whole technology industry. There have been many predictions of how AI will change our lives, some more outlandish than others, but everyone wants to talk about AI. In power electronics, there is a different discussion – not only about the improvements that AI can possibly make in power installations, but how that we can possibly provide the power that AI needs to operate.    

AI is mainly undertaken through power hungry GPU processors, and these processors are almost always located in data centres. Providing the power to data centres is a problem in itself, and many operators are looking at innovative ways of providing that power, including by the installation of miniature nuclear reactors. The power issues do not stop there as the GPUs are located on boards, which are stacked in cabinets. Operators want to place more and more processors on each board, and the amount of power demanded by each processor continues to expand significantly, meaning that unprecedented amounts of power density are required. Nvidia’s newest range of GPUs, which are currently in their launch phase, will dramatically increase those power requirements as they become more widely available to data centre operators. So there is no stationary target to aim for, as the industry is continuing to demand more and more power in smaller spaces. 

Our Special Report this month looks at these issues. As usual, we will provide a broad selection of articles in the Special Report, from the powering of individual processors, to supplying the boards and cabinets. The first article in this month’s Special Report comes from Navitas, and it looks at the new Ruby standard, and how it is challenging the power industry and how manufacturers can meet those demands. The second article is from Analog Devices, and it describes how smart power modules could be the solution to power individual processors in data centres. 

As well as the articles in the Special Report, we will also feature general articles of interest to power engineers in our Tech Focus section, as well as the latest news and views from the industry. I hope you enjoy!

Best Regards,

Ally Winning

European Editor, PSD

Ally@powersystemsdesign.com