Echion, Proper Voltage to co-develop 1.6MW UPS rack
Author: Joe Peck
Echion Technologies, a UK developer of niobium-based fast-charging battery anode materials, and Proper Voltage, a US developer of battery management software and electronics, are collaborating to develop a 1.6MW uninterruptible power supply (UPS) system designed to buffer fluctuating AI workloads and bridge power outages in data centres.
The proposed VaultX system will integrate Echion’s niobium-based battery technology into Proper Voltage’s Vault UPS platform, which supports 480V and 800V configurations. The companies have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) covering the development.
AI training workloads can cause power demand to fluctuate by tens of megawatts within milliseconds, placing additional demands on utility connections, switchgear, and generation equipment. The companies say buffering these fluctuations within data centres could help operators make better use of existing grid capacity.
VaultX is planned to deliver 1.6MW of power and 84kWh of storage capacity. Its battery system will use Echion’s XNO anode technology, which the company says is designed to support high-rate charging and discharging over repeated cycles.
The technology is intended to meet the demands of AI data centres, where frequent power fluctuations can require rapid charging and discharging. Echion says its battery chemistry can support charging or discharging in three to six minutes and more than 50,000 cycles under specified test conditions.
UPS system combines backup power and load buffering
Jean de La Verpilliere, CEO of Echion, comments, “AI data centres need exactly what XNO was built for, which is extremely high charge and discharge rates sustained across tens of thousands of cycles.
“Our materials and cells are built for duty cycles that aren’t survivable for conventional chemistries, and collaborating with Proper Voltage enables us to implement these capabilities in a market-leading UPS platform and ensure that operators can benefit from VaultX in the shortest possible amount of time.
“Conventional chemistries can deliver serviceable discharge but cannot safely handle the continuous and instantaneous high-C-rate charging that AI data centres require. XNO addresses this.
“Operators will soon be able to incorporate a single system that serves both the backup mission and continuous load buffering. I look forward to working with Proper Voltage to launch what has the potential to be a step-change product to the market.”
Charlie Welch, CEO of Proper Voltage, adds, “Our architecture was purposely designed so that operators can adopt new and emerging battery technology without redesigning their power systems, which is why integrating XNO into our Vault architecture is straightforward.
“What this system changes for an operator is the business case. A UPS that also buffers load stops being an asset that sits idle between outages and starts earning its footprint every day.
“We recognise the impact that XNO can have on data centre operations and its symmetric power capabilities fundamentally change what a data centre UPS can do to support emerging GPUs and ease the stress placed on upstream grid infrastructure. It’s exciting to be moving into the next phase of a project with this much potential to shape AI infrastructure.”
