Schneider Electric unveils modular AI data centre design
Author: Joe Peck
Global energy technology company Schneider Electric has introduced its RapidScale Modular Data Centre Reference Design 115, a pre-engineered blueprint for high-density AI infrastructure based on the NVIDIA Vera Rubin platform.
The reference design combines power, liquid cooling, IT, software, and lifecycle services to support the repeatable deployment of AI data centres.
It uses liquid cooling and temperature controls to manage heat and power consumption in high-density computing environments and is also intended to simplify site logistics and reduce the need for bespoke engineering.
Prefabrication cuts installation time
Research co-authored by Schneider Electric and hyperscale developer Compass Datacenters, Prefabricated White Space Module Time Study: Lessons from a High-Density Liquid-Cooled Deployment (White Paper 238), reports that prefabricated modular IT pods reduced on-site installation time from 75.5 hours to 15 hours per pod, an 80% reduction.
Adil Attlassy, Chief Technology Officer of Compass Datacenters, explains, “The white space brings together the greatest concentration of systems and trades in the smallest footprint, with each installation dependent on the one before it.
“Working jointly with Schneider Electric, we engineered a prefabricated module that integrates these systems into a single assembly, eliminating the need to coordinate multiple scopes of work on site.
“By reducing on-site installation time by 80%, we accelerate deployment and help our customers bring their workloads online sooner.”
Standardised infrastructure for AI factories
The RapidScale approach combines pre-engineered designs with a supply chain spanning eight primary manufacturing sites, covering 1.35 million ft² (125,000m²), alongside three additional facilities and 12 partner sites across 10 countries.
Schneider Electric says its manufacturing capacity has grown fourfold since 2025 and that around 90% of the equipment incorporated into RapidScale is manufactured in house.
The reference design is intended as an initial step towards supporting the NVIDIA DSX POD reference design, which enables factory integration and validation of AI infrastructure before shipment. It has been validated to ANSI standards for US deployments, with plans to extend the framework to IEC standards for international use.
Manish Kumar, Executive Vice President, Secure Power and Data Centres at Schneider Electric, notes, “As AI infrastructure scales at unprecedented speed, customers need solutions that are standardised, reliable, and deployable with certainty.
“Through our portfolio of reference designs and prefabricated solutions, combined with global supply chain strength and lifecycle expertise, we help AI factory operators accelerate time to value while building the resilient infrastructure required for next-generation compute.”
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