Cooperating to solve AI Data Center high-powered electric and direct current demands
December 3, 2025 – Today, the Open Compute Project Foundation (OCP), the nonprofit international organization bringing at-scale innovations and hyperscale best practices to all, and Current/OS, an independent, non-profit, global partnership open to all electricity stakeholders and manufacturers promoting electrical direct current, announce a new alliance focused on data center power technology standards and best practices. The alliance was formed shortly after the launch of the OCP’s “Open Data Center for AI” strategic initiative and “Data Center Facilities Power Distribution” Project.
While both organizations already advance direct current (DC) adoption independently for efficiency gains and energy savings, the alliance between the two organizations will fuse OCP’s expertise in open data center hardware with Current/OS’s open standards for safe, interoperable direct current microgrids. This alliance aims to accelerate the shift from traditional AC-based power to efficient hybrid AC/DC or fully DC-native data center infrastructure.
An open approach to this challenging space can create a complete, vendor-neutral “operating system” for DC-powered data centers that eliminates the 15-30% efficiency tax of repeated AC-DC conversions, standardizes ultra-fast (<100 µs) solid-state fault protection for safe DC arcs, and turns today’s proprietary power silos into true plug-and-play ecosystems. Hyperscalers, neoclouds, colocation providers, and enterprises could mix standardized components based on open specifications exactly the way OCP already lets them mix servers and other IT equipment—driving competition and innovation as well as lower costs. Downstream this could unlock seamless direct coupling of DC power sources to the DC busbar with zero or one conversion step and a clear migration path from 48-volt busbar racks today to +/-400 and 800 volts tomorrow.
With AI data center facilities pushing site power demands to hundreds of megawatts and even gigawatts, this alliance is a decisive step toward highly efficient and resilient power infrastructure. Furthermore, this alliance is a timely expansion of the 2025 momentum of a major power-centric approved OCP Contribution, the Mount Diablo higher voltage power sidecar rack. With the requirements of the 1MW IT rack for next-generation AI processing, Diablo is a milestone on the way to future facilities’ native higher-voltage power distribution that dramatically cuts current and I²R losses to improve power usage effectiveness (PUE) and sustainability.
The Current/OS alliance with OCP was encouraged by the volunteer co-leaders from Eaton and ABB of the OCP Power Distribution Project, which is focused is on the adoption and development of low voltage direct current (LVDC) distribution inside the data center, including system architecture, best practices, and industry coordination. The OCP Project’s community is imminently focused on releasing a directional whitepaper in early 2026, and is already organized into six workstreams.
“AI facilities require safe, more efficient power systems that meet modern demands. By aligning OCP Community open specifications and best practices white papers with Current/OS DC Standards, we can advance interoperability, streamline system designs, and create a clear roadmap to direct current distribution equipment. ABB is proud to help lead this transition to more resilient, future-ready power in data centers.” Paolo Catapane, Chapter Leader Solution Product Management, ABB.
“Off the back of OCP Global Summit’s momentum in data center power, we’re pleased to announce our alliance with the Current/OS Foundation,” said James Kelly, VP Market Intelligence & Innovation, Open Compute Project Foundation. “By uniting OCP’s open data center leadership with Current/OS’s open DC microgrid standards, we’re shaping a path to a vendor-neutral industry framework for DC-native data centers, making them more fungible to a range of next-generation AI IT infrastructure while also boosting the overall facility efficiency and resiliency.”
About the Open Compute Project Foundation
The Open Compute Project (OCP) Foundation brings hyperscale innovation to everyone by fostering open collaboration across the technology stack — from silicon to systems to data center facilities to the grid. With a global community of hyperscalers, cloud providers, enterprises, and technology vendors, OCP drives designs and standards that improve efficiency, scalability, and sustainability in data center and edge infrastructure worldwide.
Learn more at: www.opencompute.org
About Current/OS
Current/OS is pioneering the energy transition by leveraging the disruptive technology of direct current. Our self-regulating power solution maximizes renewable energy sources, improves electricity efficiency, and reduces the electricity demand of installations. With industry leaders on our board, we are developing an ecosystem of manufacturers and electricity stakeholders to shape a DC standard and develop DC-certified products for buildings and installations.
Learn more at: currentos.org