Eaton and Siemens Energy Team Up to Boost Data Center Capacity

Intelligent power management company Eaton, and Siemens Energy have announced an approach to building data centers with integrated onsite power. They will offer grid-independent energy supplies and standardized modular systems to facilitate swift data center construction and deployment.

The collaboration will enable simultaneous construction of data centers and associated on-site power generation with grid connection and the integration of renewables to meet regional regulatory requirements, if required. 

Siemens Energy’s modular and scalable power plant concept is tailored to the needs of data center operators. The standard configuration generates 500 megawatts (MW) of electricity, featuring SGT-800 gas turbines, redundancy and additional battery storage systems. Based on its modular approach, the size of the plant can be scaled up and down. The Siemens Energy concept also includes an optional emission-free clean air grid connection to be installed either during construction or as a retrofit. This feature would enable data centers to provide grid services.

Eaton will provide customers with electrical equipment such as medium voltage switchgear, low voltage switchgear, UPS, busways, structural support, racks and containment systems, engineering services and the software offerings needed to protect and enable IT loads from the medium-voltage grid to the chip and help accelerate building and commissioning data centers with skidded and modular designs.

“Our approach of letting customers pick the right balance of energy sources is very flexible and construction to start-up time is swift with options to reduce emissions in both the short and long term," Cyrille Brisson, global segment leader, Data Centers, Eaton, says. "Crucially, our approach offers data center owners and developers the opportunity to build capacity and bring it online fast in any location where they have land available that is close to gas, water and fiber.”  

“We offer hyperscalers, co-locators and investors a unique package, enabling them to reduce the time-to-market by up to two years in many places which leads to significant revenue gains," says Andreas Pistauer, global head of sales, Siemens Energy’s Gas Services Business Area. "Our power plant design is built with redundancy, eliminating the need for backup diesel generators, and reducing CO₂ emissions by about 50 percent.”

About Eaton

Eaton makes products for the data center, utility, industrial, commercial, machine building, residential, aerospace and mobility markets. By capitalizing on the global growth trends of electrification and digitalization, the company is working to solve global power management challenges.  

About Siemens Energy

Siemens Energy is an energy technology company covering the majority of the energy value chain— from power and heat generation and transmission to storage. The portfolio includes conventional and renewable energy technology, such as gas and steam turbines, hybrid power plants operated with hydrogen, and power generators and transformers. Its wind power subsidiary Siemens Gamesa makes Siemens Energy a global market leader for renewable energies. 

Sources: Press materials received from the company and additional information gleaned from the company’s website.