Rohm gears up for 800V HVDC data centres
Rohm, a maker of SiC, GaN and silicon power devices, has added its name to companies supporting NVIDIA’s new 800V High Voltage Direct Current (HVDC) architecture, designed for megawatt-scale AI factories that are more efficient, scalable, and sustainable.
The 800V HVDC initiative is designed to address the inefficiencies of traditional 54V rack power systems, which are constrained by physical space, copper overload, and conversion losses .At the heart of the new infrastructure is the conversion of 13.8kV AC from the grid directly into 800V DC.
Industrial-grade rectification with minimal losses is an area where Rohm says its SiC devices fit well with NVIDIA’s plans to begin large-scale deployment of a data centre architecture able to power 1 MW compute racks and beyond.
As well as discrete devices, Rohm offers a lineup of high-power SiC modules, including top-side cooling moulded packages such as the HSDIP20, equipped with advanced 4th Gen SiC chips.
These 1200V SiC modules are optimised for LLC topologies in AC-DC converters and primary-side applications in DC-DC converters. Engineered for high-efficiency, high-density power conversion, they are particularly well-suited for the centralised power systems envisioned in NVIDIA’s architecture, according to Rohm. Their robust thermal performance and scalability make them ideal for 800V busways and MW-scale rack configurations.
Complementing SiC, Rohm has GaN-based the EcoGaN lineup which includes 150V and 650V GaN HEMTs, gate drivers, and integrated power stage ICs. At the same time, proprietary Nano Pulse Control technology further improves switching performance, reducing pulse widths to as low as 2ns. These innovations support the growing demand for smaller, more efficient power systems in AI data centres.
Silicon will play a key role too, says Rohm. One example from the silicon portfolio is the RY7P250BM, a 100V power MOSFET endorsed by global cloud providers designed specifically for hot-swap circuits in 48V power systems — an essential component in AI servers. Key features include best-in-class SOA (Safe Operating Area) performance and ultra-low ON resistance (1.86 mΩ) in a compact 8080 package. These characteristics help reduce power loss and improve system reliability — crucial requirements in high-density, high-availability cloud platforms. As data centres transition from 12V to 48V and beyond, hot-swap capability becomes critical for maintaining uptime and protecting against inrush currents.
Rohm says it is committed to working closely with industry leaders like NVIDIA as well as data centre operators and power system designers to provide the foundational technologies needed for this next generation of AI factories.
