Development and delivery of uninterruptible power systems (UPSs) for a data center

• #Infrastructure resilience
• #Power stabilization
• #Energy saving

The data center in Shiroi, Chiba Prefecture, covers an area of about 40,000 square meters.According to a survey by a major think tank, most data centers are about 10,000 square meters, making this data center one of the largest in Japan.

This large data center houses advanced technologies such as robotics, AI, and solar power generation equipment.Fuji Electric’s power electronics products, which freely manipulate electricity, are used in the data center.

Young employees played a central role in the mission to develop and deliver Fuji Electric’s products.

Facilities support dramatically increasing Internet communications

Remote work has become widespread since COVID-19.Internet shopping and online banking have rapidly spread as the demand for staying at home has increased.

As a result, the volume of data traffic continues to increase.It is expected that the volume of communication will increase even more dramatically in the future as the development and spread of generative AI advances.Data centers, which store data, are special buildings with servers and network equipment. They are being built not only in Japan but all around the world.

“Fuji Electric’s UPSs are indispensable for these large data centers,” said Ms. Maeda who was in charge of sales.

She joined Fuji Electric in 2022 as a new graduate.

She said, “As I participated in internships at various companies, I learned that UPSs are used in places where power failures cannot be tolerated, even for one second.Because I wanted to work in the field of infrastructure, I found commercial products such as UPSs very attractive, and I wanted to join Fuji Electric, since it has the largest share of the UPS market in Japan.”

We needed to fundamentally change our way of thinking.

UPSs (Uninterruptible Power Systems) are power supply systems with built-in batteries that provide a stable supply of power in the event of a power failure.They protect servers, computers, and other precision equipment from power supply problems caused by natural disasters such as typhoons and lightning strikes, as well as sudden accidents.

UPSs convert power using inverters and other devices, but power loss is incurred during the process.Fuji Electric’s products offer one of the industry’s highest power conversion efficiencies. Its latest products, released in July 2023, have achieved 96 to 98.5% efficiency.They also keep running costs low and reduce CO2 emissions.Thanks to their high reliability in electrical control, they are widely used in large-scale systems such as data centers, online systems for financial institutions, hospitals, and so on.

In May 2019, Japan’s first domestic Internet service provider “Internet Initiative Japan Inc. (hereinafter referred to as IIJ)” opened the Shiroi Data Center Campus in Shiroi, Chiba Prefecture, and its second phase of buildings went into operation in the summer of 2023.Fuji Electric’s UPSs are being installed at the Shiroi Data Center Campus.

Mr. Kinuta of the Development Division was involved in the development.He joined Fuji Electric in 2014.He began developing the UPSs to be installed in the second phase of buildings for the Shiroi Data Center Campus in 2019, his fifth year at the company.

He said, “As data centers scale in capacity, we needed to offer more than double the output capacity.To achieve this, it was necessary to fundamentally change our way of thinking.In the past, we used to make single UPS units, but we decided to make them ‘modular’ so that they could be scaled out.We imagined using two in parallel at 1200 kVA or 2400 kVA.”

He says that he came up with the idea for a modular type when he received a hint from Fuji Electric’s Business Planning Department that suggested breaking down the elements.

As the volume of data communications increases, Fuji Electric’s UPS Development Division is also expanding, and its number of employees is growing rapidly.Mr. Kinuta specializes in UPS structures.

He said, “As of 2024, we have completed a 2400 kVA UPS.But this is not the end of UPS development. We are now developing the next generation of standards.My specialty is UPS structures, but Fuji Electric’s UPS Development Division has specialists in various fields, including electronics.I think engineers sometimes let their wacky sense of pride get in the way and hesitate asking questions they think might be too elementary.But this kind of hesitation shouldn’t be reflected in finished product.Our goal is to create really good products by combining the expertise of each of our specialists.”

Going beyond even liberal arts!

Ms. Maeda of the Sales Department receives the “baton” of products developed by Mr. Kinuta.

“When I joined the company, the Shiroi Data Center Campus project was already underway.I come from a liberal arts background, so I can’t say that I had sufficient knowledge of electronics.Of course, I do my own research, but when it comes to things that I just can’t understand, in order to move forward, I believe it is important to ask not only my supervisors and seniors, but also people in the engineering and development departments, as well as factory workers.”

What is important is the customer’s perspective.

Mr. Minegishi joined the company in 2021 as a member of the Power Supply and Facility Systems Division. He is responsible for a wide range of duties, from basic system design after receiving orders to testing, procurement, and overall schedule management.

He remarked, “When setting up a data center, it is normal to proceed with plans by working backwards from the launch date of operations. But this time, many unexpected things happened due COVID-19, like the lockdown in China.Parts that were meant to be manufactured in China were not available.This was a problem because our deadline was already established.I was constantly thinking about how we could work through this challenge.Since I didn’t have much experience, I asked my supervisors and seniors for their feedback before proceeding with any of my own ideas.”

Basically, it was necessary to find alternative products, pre-order materials that were still available, shorten the on-site installation process (at Shiroi Data Center Campus), and extend delivery dates for equipment whenever possible......He was in his second year at the company when this happened.

Offering a wide range of capacities is one of the features of Fuji Electric’s products.Customer installation costs can be decreased by delivering UPSs with capacities that exactly meet their requirements.

“I feel that we, as manufacturers, must always work from the customer’s perspective.In terms of capacity, we have to be aware of what our customers want and how we should move forward.This project taught me once again that this is important so that we can build relationships that will extend into the future.”

We want to take full advantage of Fuji Electric’s strengths.

What are your aspirations for the future?They thought about it for about 30 minutes before writing their thoughts on paper.
“When doing our work, it is important to value the ideas of both customers and our own.” (Ms. Maeda)
“As engineers, we’ll miss important opportunities if we forget to keep learning.” (Mr. Kinuta)
“I’d like us to continue to ‘pioneer’ the future without hesitation along the path we have personally ‘chosen’ for ourselves.” (Mr. Minegishi)

In July 2023, the second phase of buildings at the Shiroi Data Center Campus, a project that involved these three employees, started operations.We asked them how they felt at that time.

“I was happy. Actually, I was very happy.” (Mr. Kinuta)
“A sense of accomplishment. It gave me confidence.” (Mr. Minegishi)
“I was genuinely impressed by the way we worked together as a company to successfully complete a big project.” (Ms. Maeda)

Yet, future projects also await these three young employees.Ms. Maeda is currently in charge of a project at the Matsue Data Center Park (in Matsue, Shimane Prefecture), IIJ’s main hub for cloud services.It is only for a short time that we can enjoy a sense of relief after finishing a big project.

“Fuji Electric is a place where even young employees can be entrusted with big projects.I want to make full use of my opportunities at Fuji Electric to help as many customers as possible as soon as possible.” (Ms. Maeda)

It just so happens that their next challenge has already begun.

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