ABB introduced the HiPerGuard data center UPS at Data Center World Washington 2026 on April 21, a medium voltage system enabling direct grid connection at 34.5kV. No intermediate voltage conversion stage is required. UL Solutions awarded it UL 9540 certification at the event, making it the first of its kind to meet that energy storage safety standard. The full HiPerGuard portfolio spans voltage levels from 4.16kV to 34.5kV and will be available to order from summer 2026.

What the 34.5kV Architecture Changes for AI Data Centers

The core engineering advance is the elimination of voltage conversion losses. Conventional data center power designs step voltage down through multiple stages. Each stage adds losses and requires switchgear, transformers, and copper cabling. HiPerGuard skips that chain entirely by connecting at 34.5kV directly. ABB states the system runs at 98 percent efficiency. Furthermore, every one percent efficiency gain in a 100 MW data center saves approximately $880,000 annually.

Beyond efficiency, the architecture also cuts physical footprint by 20 to 25 percent compared to low-voltage UPS configurations. Discrete device counts fall. Cabling runs shorten. Copper requirements drop substantially. Additionally, the system supports incremental capacity expansion through parallel configurations up to 25 MW. As a result, operators can scale without full infrastructure rebuilds. ABB’s installed base already includes deployments at Applied Digital’s 400 MW and 300 MW AI campuses in North Dakota.

The Grid Services Dimension That Goes Beyond Backup Power

HiPerGuard 34.5kV integrates with ABB’s Power Exchanger technology. This enables battery management and active grid support. Operators can therefore use it for peak shaving and frequency regulation. In that way, what was historically a passive backup asset becomes an active grid-interactive component. Moreover, the microgrid-ready architecture brings gas turbines, renewable generation, and grid connection into one unified system. From backup to grid asset and the reinvention of data centre power captures exactly this transition, and HiPerGuard 34.5kV is one of its clearest product expressions.

The timing of this launch matters. Data center operators face growing pressure to manage power costs and demonstrate grid responsibility. Power as the new gatekeeper of AI infrastructure has shifted from a planning topic to an operational constraint. Consequently, a UPS that cuts conversion losses and enables grid services addresses both pressures at once.