LINCOLN, Neb — As artificial intelligence drives a surge in demand for data centers, a University of Nebraska–Lincoln researcher is working on a new way to reduce the massive amount of energy those facilities consume — starting at the moment electricity enters the building.
Jun Wang, an assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln, is developing a high-voltage semiconductor power module called LincolnPak that aims to improve overall energy efficiency at data centers. The U.S. Department of Energy, through its Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy, has awarded Wang a three-year, $1.8 million grant to continue work on the technology.
Large AI facilities typically receive power from the grid at medium voltage, often 13.8 kilovolts, before stepping it down to 480-volt alternating current. The electricity then goes through multiple additional conversion stages before reaching the chips inside graphics processing units, which operate at about 1.2 volts direct current. Each conversion step adds cost, bulk and energy loss…