The Zhitong Finance App learned that CICC released a research report stating that as AI computing power increases, the importance of advanced AI server power supplies continues to upgrade. AI server power supplies are mainly divided into two parts: AC/DC and DC/DC. CICC expects AI power supply (AC/DC) demand to reach 10.2 GW/11.8 GW in 2024/25, and AI power supply (DC/DC) demand is expected to reach 3GW/4 GW, of which the AC/DC market size is expected to reach 156 to 27.2 billion yuan by 2025. Taiwanese manufacturers dominate the AI power supply market. The team believes that with the introduction of new products and upgrades, domestic brands are expected to achieve further breakthroughs and upgrades in the AI server power supply field.

Server power is the core of data center power supply system construction. As AI computing power increases, the importance of advanced AI server power continues to upgrade. Advanced GPUs also place higher demands on AI server power and power density. For example, the H100 server rack with a power of about 10.2 kW needs to be equipped with a 19.8 kW power supply, while the NVL72 rack with a power of about 120 kW needs to be equipped with a 198 kW power supply. However, the server power supply itself requires power expansion in a limited space. Most traditional server power supplies have a power density of less than 50 w/cubic inches, while AI server power supplies can reach 100 w/cubic inches. This simultaneously places higher demands on server power topology design, component applications, etc., and CICC believes that demand for advanced AI power supplies is expected to continue to upgrade in the future.

AI server power supplies are mainly divided into AC/DC and DC/DC. In the process of transmission from the power grid to the chip, the voltage needs to be reduced from 0.01-0.03 million volts to 0.5 to 1 volts. In this process, the data center power supply architecture is mainly divided into three levels: UPS for the backup circuit, AC/DC for the rack power supply, and DC/DC for the chip power supply. The AC/DC input is the AC input to the PDU, which outputs DC current through two processes of voltage reduction and rectification; DC/DC further reduces the voltage to the usable voltage of the chip. Among them, the difficulty of AC/DC power supplies is to increase power density within a limited volume, while DC/DC is how to minimize voltage drop board loss.

CICC expects AI power supply (AC/DC) demand to reach 10.2 GW/11.8 GW in 2024/25, and AI power supply (DC/DC) demand is expected to reach 3GW/4 GW. CICC expects the AC/DC market size to reach 156 to 27.2 billion yuan by 2025. Most server power supplies use redundant designs, and the payload is often between 50-60%, which not only ensures safe supply, but also enables the power supply to work at maximum efficiency. At the same time, due to the power of other components such as the CPU, the rack power is also greater than the total power of the GPU. CICC expects AI power requirements based on shipments of different types of GPUs, as described below.

Taiwanese manufacturers dominate the AI power supply market, and CICC is also optimistic about the subsequent performance of local manufacturers. Currently, Delta and Guangbao account for the main share of AC/DC power supplies for AI servers, while DC/DC sees Delta, MPS, and Vicor as the core manufacturers. However, at the same time, domestic brands such as Megmeet and Eurocom are also continuing to increase AI server power supplies. CICC believes that with the introduction of new products and upgrades, domestic brands are expected to achieve further breakthroughs and upgrades in the field of AI server power supplies.

risks

AI server power demand falls short of expectations, industry competition intensifies