By @proactive_x
Publication Date: 2026-05-22 08:33:00
Ideal Power Inc (NASDAQ:IPWR, FRA:5ILA) is seeing growing industry momentum behind next-generation high-voltage DC power architectures, as AI computing pushes data center infrastructure beyond the limits of legacy systems.
Traditional 400-480V AC-based data centers were built for rack power levels of 10 to 50 kilowatts, but AI workloads are driving those requirements toward one megawatt per rack by 2030, accelerating a sector-wide shift to 800V DC architectures that NVIDIA has been actively driving through its GPU platform roadmap.
The company recently signed a letter of intent with an industry partner to co-develop a B-TRAN-enabled prototype for evaluation by a US hyperscaler supporting NVIDIA’s new Rubin Ultra 800V DC AI data center power distribution architecture.
In this Q&A with Proactive, CEO David Somo discusses the commercial opportunity, key development milestones, and what a potential 2027 production ramp could mean for the company.
Proactive: You’ve framed high-voltage DC architecture as an early-stage shift. What are the clearest real-world adoption signals you’re seeing today that suggest this transition is accelerating now?
David Somo: The first area is customer visits, where we sit in front of customers and see them accelerating product development around things like solid-state circuit breakers and solid-state transformers. These are designed specifically for the transition from AC power systems to high-voltage DC power systems.
As customers…
