Vertiv & Caterpillar partner to boost AI data centre power & cooling

Vertiv has announced a collaboration with Caterpillar and its subsidiary Solar Turbines to deliver integrated energy optimisation solutions for data centres. The companies aim to address rising demand for on-site energy systems that provide reliable power and cooling for AI-focused operations.

Integrated solutions

The agreement brings together Vertiv's range of power distribution and cooling technologies with Caterpillar's and Solar Turbines' experience in power generation and combined cooling, heat and power (CCHP) systems. The platform will offer customers pre-designed data centre architectures delivered as modular, validated building blocks.

Caterpillar and Solar Turbines will provide on-site power generation using natural gas turbines and reciprocating engines.

These solutions are designed to support scalable electric power and supply thermal energy for cooling purposes. Vertiv's modular power and cooling packages will be integrated into these systems and are intended to shorten the design and deployment process for new data centres.

Efficiency and deployment

The companies stated that by adopting these pre-engineered, standardised designs, data centre operators will be able to accelerate deployment schedules.

The solution is expected to enable customers to manage energy use more efficiently through end-to-end coordination of power, cooling, distribution, and dynamic load management.

Another feature of the offering is global lifecycle support, leveraging the service networks of both companies for maintenance and technical assistance.

Energy performance

The collaboration aims to support customers looking to reduce their reliance on public power grids. By generating electricity and managing cooling on-site, data centre operators can lower their power usage effectiveness (PUE) and carbon footprint.

AI data centres in particular have higher demands for both power and thermal management.

The integration of power generation with cooling is viewed as a response to the expanding scale and complexity of artificial intelligence workloads.

Industry background

This collaboration forms part of what Vertiv describes as its "Bring Your Own Power & Cooling" strategy, referencing the increasing need for resilient infrastructure that is less dependent on central grid supply.

"This collaboration with Caterpillar and Solar Turbines is a cornerstone of our Bring Your Own Power & Cooling (BYOP&C) strategy and aligns seamlessly with our grid-to-chip framework by offering resilient, on-site power generation solutions. This is optimal for customers looking to reduce or eliminate grid dependence," said Gio Albertazzi, CEO, Vertiv.

"By combining our complementary technologies, portfolios and expertise, we are enabling coordinated integration. Our pre-engineered, interoperability-tested building blocks let customers execute design, build and deploy concurrently, with predictable system performance," said Albertazzi.

"As AI-driven workloads continue to accelerate, the demand for robust and scalable power infrastructure and cooling is becoming increasingly critical," said Jason Kaiser, Group President of Caterpillar Power & Energy.

"Our collaboration with Vertiv will enable us to deliver integrated, on-site energy solutions that lower PUE and meet customers' evolving needs."