Microsoft and Veir to Bring Superconductors to Data Centres

Data centre power demands have increased from tens to 200 kilowatts in just a few years, forcing data centre developers to create future facilities that can handle the load.

Tim Heidel, CEO of Veir, told the media that in some couple of years, it’s going to be 600 kilowatts, and then we’re moving to a megawatt. He also said  they are speaking to folks that are now trying to wrap their heads around the architecture for how you design data centres that have multi-megawatt racks.

Even the low-voltage cables that supply electricity to the racks begin to take up too much space and produce too much heat at those sizes. 

Veir has modified its superconducting electrical wires to move them within the data centre in order to control that. A cable system that can transport three megawatts of low-voltage electricity will be the first product of the Microsoft-backed business.

Near its Massachusetts headquarters, Veir constructed a synthetic mock data centre to showcase the technology. The cable systems will be piloted in actual data centres next year, this is prior to an anticipated commercial introduction in 2027, Heidel stated that the cables will be tested in data centres the following year. The schedule reflects the pressing demand for solutions as operators struggle to develop facilities capable of supporting multi-megawatt server racks.

A family of materials known as superconductors has the ability to conduct electricity without losing any energy. The main drawback is that they must be kept far below freezing. 

Previously, Veir had concentrated on increasing capacity on long-distance transmission lines through the use of superconductors. However, utilities are conservative and may take a while to embrace new technology. Although utilities still have a strong possibility of using superconductors for high-demand transmission lines in the future, that change is still a ways off.

Heidel stated, “Compared to the transmission community, the data centre community is moving, evolving, growing, scaling, and tackling challenges at a far higher pace.”

For years, Veir has been in discussions with data centres. These discussions have recently taken on a different tone.

“We were seeing a lot of people say, ‘Oh, this grid interconnection problem is real, and we need to figure out how to solve it.'” But then a couple of potential clients turned around and said, “We actually have really hard problems to solve on our campuses and inside of our buildings,” he explained.

The startup updated the fundamental technology it developed for transmission lines to meet the low-voltage needs of data centres. Veir sources superconductors from the same manufacturers and wraps them in a jacket to keep the liquid nitrogen coolant at -196˚ C (-321˚ F). To switch from superconductors to copper cables, termination boxes are placed at the end of the wires.

Heidel explained, “We are essentially a systems integrator that constructs the cooling systems, makes the cables, and assembles the entire system to deliver a huge amount of power in a small space.”

According to Veir, the outcome is cables that deliver power five times farther while taking up 20 times less area than copper.

“Today’s AI and data centre community is desperate to remain ahead of the curve and discover answers. Heidel stated, “There is a lot of pressure from the competition to remain in the forefront.

“The AI and data centre communities are frantic for solutions and to stay ahead. Heidel noted that there is a significant amount of competitive pressure to stay at the forefront. This urgency is opening up opportunities for innovations that would otherwise take years to acquire momentum in more conservative businesses.

Microsoft’s support lends major legitimacy to VEIR’s data centre initiative. As one of the world’s top cloud providers, Microsoft has direct knowledge of the infrastructure problems that AI workloads create. The company’s investment indicates that it believes superconducting wires will be crucial infrastructure for next-generation data centres.

VEIR’s transition from transmission lines to data centres is part of a larger trend as AI infrastructure demands push existing technologies to their limitations. Superconducting cables may become the new norm for handling multi-megawatt workloads, thanks to Microsoft’s sponsorship and pilot deployments beginning next year. The commercial schedule for 2027 corresponds to when industry analysts anticipate that data centre power requirements will reach genuinely unprecedented levels, making VEIR’s space-saving, heat-reducing technology potentially crucial infrastructure.