These smart  PSUs are all about using less power and cutting CO₂ emissions, which means lower costs over their lifetime. And they're not just for the data centres of tomorrow; they can swap out old PSUs in current servers to boost efficiency.

Artificial intelligence (AI) is gobbling up energy like nobody's business, making data centres worldwide hungrier for power. This spike in demand is a big shout for more efficient and reliable server energy sources.

Infineon Technologies AG is stepping up to the plate, opening a new chapter in energy supply for AI systems with a roadmap for power supply units (PSUs) that are tailor-made for the energy needs of AI data centres, keeping energy efficiency front and centre.

On top of the 3 kW and 3.3 kW PSUs already on offer, Infineon is gearing up to launch new 8 kW and 12 kW models to help energy efficiency in AI data centres even further. The 12kW reference board is the world's first PSU to hit this level of oomph.

Infineon Power & Sensor Systems head Adam White said keeping up with the soaring energy needs of data centres is becoming a major issue.

The new PSUs bring together three semiconductor materials – silicon (Si), silicon carbide (SiC), and gallium nitride (GaN) – into one module.

The boom in server and data centre applications has already bumped up the power needs, meaning we need PSUs with even more juice, from 800 W to a hefty 5.5 kW and beyond. This uptick is driven by the beefy power requirements of Graphic Process Units (GPUs) that crunch AI applications.

Top-tier GPUs now need up to 1 kW per chip, and we're looking at 2 kW or more by the end of the decade. This is going to mean a bigger overall energy demand for data centres. Depending on how things go, the International Energy Agency (IEA) reckons data centres could be chowing down on up to seven per cent of the world's electricity by 2030 – that's about as much as India uses right now.

White said that Infineon's new PSUs will do their bit to keep the CO₂ footprint of AI data centres in check despite the skyrocketing energy needs.

White claims they hit an efficiency of 97.5 per cent and met the toughest performance standards.

The new 8 kW PSU can support AI racks belting out up to 300 kW and more. They've ramped up the efficiency and power density to 100 watts per in³, a big leap from 32 W/in³ in the existing 3 kW PSU, which is great news for system size and cost savings for the folks running the show,

The 8 kW Power Supply Unit will hit the shelves in Q1 2025.