AI Is Rewriting the Energy Storage Playbook

AI data centers are creating a new kind of power problem. As thousands of GPUs ramp together, fast and synchronized changes in electrical demand can place new pressure on UPS systems, generators and the broader power infrastructure supporting the compute load.

In this episode of the Data Center Frontier Show, DCF Editor in Chief Matt Vincent speaks with Frank DeLattre, President Americas at Musashi Energy Solutions, about how hybrid supercapacitors could help data centers manage those rapid power transients — and why AI may be forcing the industry to rethink the role of energy storage altogether.

DeLattre explains the difference between storing energy and managing power, and why high-power, short-duration storage may become increasingly important as AI infrastructure scales. The discussion explores placing energy storage at multiple points in the power chain, from the UPS to systems closer to the server rack, where transients can potentially be addressed before they propagate upstream.

The conversation also examines whether short-duration storage can help operators get more compute from existing electrical capacity by buffering momentary peaks, as well as the tradeoffs between energy buffering and throttling GPU performance.

DeLattre also raises a provocative question around traditional UPS design: If backup generators can accept load within seconds, how much stored energy does a modern AI data center actually need for ride-through?

The discussion looks ahead to a future in which operators may think less in terms of a single “UPS battery” and more in terms of an energy storage architecture — combining different technologies, durations and locations to solve different power problems across the AI data center.