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AI Power Demand Is Pushing GaN Into Data-Center Power Design

AI data centers need more electricity and denser, dependable power delivery. GaN can help optimize selected conversion stages, but grid capacity, cooling, backup and system design still matter.
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AI is increasing both the amount of electricity data centers use and the power that must be delivered to increasingly dense server racks. Gallium nitride (GaN) can help make some power-conversion stages smaller or more efficient, but it is one component of a much larger system that still needs grid capacity, cooling, protection, backup power and careful design.

Why AI data centers need more power

Data centers consume electricity to run servers and networking equipment, convert and distribute power, and remove heat. AI workloads add demand as operators deploy accelerated servers, whose electricity use is projected to grow faster than conventional server use. The resulting challenge is not only how much power a facility needs overall: AI equipment can also concentrate substantial demand in individual racks, raising the importance of reliable power delivery and heat removal.

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Forecasts are estimates, not fixed outcomes. They differ by report year, reference year and assumptions about AI adoption, efficiency and infrastructure constraints. The International Energy Agency’s 2025 analysis estimated that global data centers used about 415 terawatt-hours (TWh) in 2024, around 1.5% of global electricity consumption, and projected about 945 TWh by 2030 in its base case. Its 2026 update estimated 485 TWh in 2025 and projected 950 TWh in 2030; in that outlook, electricity use from AI-focused data centers is projected to triple.

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IEA outlook Starting estimate Projection How to read it
2025 report About 415 TWh in 2024; roughly 1.5% of global electricity use About 945 TWh in 2030, base case A projection from the 2025 analysis, not a measured 2030 result
2026 update 485 TWh in 2025 950 TWh in 2030, central projection; AI-focused data-center electricity use projected to triple An updated outlook with a different reference year

The estimates should not be read as a precise year-by-year growth path or as contradictory measurements: one is a 2025 report’s estimate and base-case projection, while the other is an updated 2026 outlook. Both point to sharply rising demand, while the actual outcome depends on how AI deployment and other factors develop.

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What GaN does in the data-center power chain

Power does not travel from the grid to a processor in one conversion. A power-supply unit (PSU) converts incoming alternating-current (AC) electricity into direct-current (DC) power for servers and racks. Additional stages then convert and regulate that power to the voltage levels needed by boards and processors. Facilities also need power protection and backup systems, including battery backup.

GaN is a wide-bandgap semiconductor used in power switches and power ICs. Its fast switching can support high-frequency conversion designs, which may help engineers build compact power-conversion stages. Whether that translates into a better system depends on the conversion stage, topology, voltage, thermal requirements, operating conditions, cost and other design choices.

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GaN is not a replacement for every other power semiconductor. Infineon describes silicon, silicon carbide (SiC) and GaN as complementary materials across the data-center power path. Its 2026 whitepaper covers reference designs from 3 kW to 12 kW that combine these materials. There is no universal material ranking established by those examples: the relevant comparison is between devices used at the same stage and under equivalent conditions.

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Power Integrations describes its 1250 V and 1700 V PowiGaN technologies in connection with next-generation data-center architectures and a shift toward 800 V DC distribution. That is a vendor application claim; it does not establish that 800 V DC is already universal or that any one architecture suits every facility.

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What the published PSU figures do—and do not—show

Supplier announcements illustrate the potential targets for power density and efficiency, but the figures below refer to different vendor designs. They are not independent, controlled head-to-head test results, and they do not establish the average performance of deployed data centers.

Source and design Reported output Reported efficiency Reported power density Qualification
Infineon, PSU reference design 8 kW 97.5% peak efficiency 100 W/in³ Company-reported figures for the named reference design, not a fleet-wide average
Navitas Semiconductor, 2024 announcement 8.5 kW 98% Not stated in the announcement figures summarized here Company-stated figure for a GaN/SiC-powered PSU; not an apples-to-apples comparison with Infineon’s design

“Peak efficiency” is not the same as efficiency across the range of loads a PSU encounters in operation. To compare designs meaningfully, an operator would need like-for-like results at relevant load levels, along with information about thermal behavior, cooling needs, reliability, protection, topology, serviceability and total system cost. The cited figures alone do not establish which design would use less energy in a particular facility.

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Why a better PSU does not solve the whole power problem

Reducing conversion losses can lower the electricity wasted as heat at a power-conversion stage. The value at facility level, however, depends on workload and utilization, cooling, redundant capacity, upstream conversion and the rest of the infrastructure. A PSU efficiency figure cannot be treated as an equal percentage reduction in a data center’s total electricity use.

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Higher power density can reduce the space required for power equipment, but concentrating more power in a smaller area makes heat removal, electrical protection, reliability and serviceability especially important. A compact conversion design still has to fit the facility’s thermal and operational requirements.

  • Grid and facility capacity: More efficient conversion does not create additional electricity supply or remove constraints on connecting a facility to the grid.
  • Cooling: Conversion improvements do not eliminate the heat generated by servers and other equipment.
  • Reliability and backup: Protection, redundancy and battery backup remain part of the power architecture.
  • Whole-system performance: The outcome depends on every conversion and distribution stage, not just the semiconductor in one PSU.

Gallium supply is a resilience consideration

The IEA’s 2026 analysis estimates that data-center demand for gallium could reach around 10% of current supply by 2030, and reports that China accounts for 95% of gallium refining. These figures make supply concentration relevant to procurement and resilience planning; they do not predict a shortage or show that GaN adoption is impossible.

For data-center designers, the practical question is how a chosen component and architecture perform across the system’s electrical, thermal, reliability and supply requirements. GaN can contribute to that design, alongside silicon and SiC, but it is not a stand-alone answer to rising AI power demand.

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