Power Integrations and Ideal Power announced a collaboration to deliver a solid-state circuit breaker (SSCB) solution providing fast, efficient, always-on protection that scales with the 800 VDC transition in AI data centers.
The companies will collaborate on a new architecture combining Power Integrations’ 1700 V InnoMux-2 power conversion ICs with Ideal Power’s B-TRAN® switches to deliver a self-powered, intelligent, ultra-fast SSCB. They have also demonstrated a working prototype and are working on a reference design.
Rising voltages and rack power levels in AI data centers create a need for innovative approaches to circuit protection. Mechanical circuit breakers are too slow to protect sensitive rack equipment, while existing electronic breakers introduce losses, reducing system efficiency. Further, electronic breakers must be powered from the 800 V bus.
In the next generation intelligent SSCB architecture, the InnoMux-2 IC converts 800 V into isolated power for gate-drive, control electronics, sensing, and auxiliary circuitry. Ideal Power’s B-TRAN® switch uses that intelligence to protect the 800 V power path to the AI computing load.
The InnoMux-2 IC features 1700 V PowiGaN technology, which can operate from an 800 VDC bus with significant margin.
The IC provides multiple independently regulated outputs instead of a conventional architecture with one isolated PSU followed by multiple DC-DC converters.
The result is a highly efficient, self-powered protection solution that eliminates the need for an external auxiliary supply while enabling ultra-fast fault isolation.
Leadership Comments
“As AI data centers move toward 800 VDC power architectures, the industry must address new challenges in power conversion, control, and protection at the system level,” said Chris Jacobs, senior vice president of marketing and product strategy at Power Integrations. “By combining Power Integrations’ 1700 V InnoMux-2 IC with Ideal Power’s innovative bidirectional solid-state circuit protection, we are helping enable intelligent 800 
VDC power architectures that improve efficiency, resiliency, and scalability in next-generation AI data centers.”
“High efficiency, ultra-fast fault interruption is essential for enabling the migration to 800 VDC AI data centers and energy infrastructure. Traditional protection methods are proving to be inadequate. Mechanical breakers are too slow, while previous semiconductor-based breakers have historically been disqualified by high power loss,” said David Somo, CEO of Ideal Power. “Power Integrations offers a unique combination of 1700 V GaN capability, multiple independently regulated outputs, high integration, and a compact solution footprint that is well suited to our 800 VDC solid-state circuit breaker architecture, which must meet demanding power efficiency requirements and strict mechanical constraints.”
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