ABB and Applied Digital Build a Template for AI-Ready Data Centers
Applied Digital and ABB in June announced a strategic infrastructure partnership to power the next generation of AI data centers, starting with a 400 MW greenfield campus in Ellendale, North Dakota. At the center of this collaboration is ABB’s HiPerGuard Medium Voltage Static Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS), a next-generation innovation that the companies claim is an industry-first, purpose-built for the demanding power profiles of AI and HPC workloads.
A Medium Voltage Milestone
Unlike traditional data centers that rely on low-voltage distribution, AI infrastructure demands significantly higher power density and efficiency, making medium-voltage solutions more viable and cost-effective. ABB’s HiPerGuard MV Static UPS system reduces the number of power conversion stages, moving directly from MV grid to MV UPS to LV distribution at the rack, thereby resulting in fewer energy losses, improved reliability, and lower overall operational costs.
Applied Digital placed initial orders in late 2024 and early 2025. While a final project completion date has not been announced, the companies have already begun end-to-end design and integration work using ABB’s electrical infrastructure and global manufacturing capabilities.
Why Medium Voltage for AI?
Although medium-voltage UPS systems remain rare in today’s data centers, ABB and Applied Digital aim to change that. While medium voltage can increase upfront CAPEX, the long-term benefits in OPEX, sustainability, and performance are expected to drive broader adoption.
Other key benefits include:
- Efficiency at Scale: Higher voltage systems reduce conversion steps, limiting power losses and heat, which enables higher compute density per square foot.
- Modular Growth: Medium voltage simplifies scalable expansion in 25 MW increments, reduces component count, and speeds deployment timelines.
- Improved Uptime & Resilience: Fewer conversion points and a more compact powertrain lower potential failure rates and enhance reliability.
- Purpose-Built Infrastructure: ABB’s HiPerGuard MV UPS ensures stable power delivery, an essential requirement for uninterrupted AI and HPC operations.
Todd Gale, Chief Development Officer, Applied Digital, believes this move has industry impact, saying:
What we are building with ABB is going to completely change the way our industry designs large-scale data centers. By leveraging ABB's cutting-edge technology and global reach, we are able to redefine the electrical infrastructure landscape and meet the growing demands to support large scale AI Factories.
Who Is Doing What?
Applied Digital will host the infrastructure at its Ellendale campus. The North Dakota site—selected for its cool climate, affordable land, and access to renewables—fits into Applied Digital’s broader energy-efficiency and carbon-reduction goals. The company is responsible for site design and construction oversight.
ABB is providing the core electrical infrastructure, including the HiPerGuard Medium Voltage UPS and switchgear. It is also leading the medium-voltage architecture's design and engineering and will use its global manufacturing capabilities to deliver at the required scale. This collaboration covers design, equipment supply, integration, and commissioning. ABB leads the powertrain; Applied Digital focuses on AI-ready optimization.
A key goal is to develop a repeatable blueprint for future AI-centric campuses.
Applied Digital has already signed a 250 MW lease at Ellendale with CoreWeave, the Nvidia-backed AI cloud provider. With an option to expand by 150 MW, the deal validates the AI-first design of the site.
Massimiliano Cifalitti, Smart Power President, ABB Electrification, adds:
Partnerships like this are accelerating the timeline for AI-ready data centers with more competitive, resilient power infrastructures. ABB’s technology is designed for peak performance with dedicated capacity across our global production network and industry-leading innovation. ABB teams are ready to deliver at scale and at speed.
What Comes Next
While exact dates for first-phase commissioning—expected to range between 100–200 MW—have not been disclosed, the projected development timeline is as follows:
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Short-term (3–6 months): Site groundbreaking, ABB equipment delivery, and commissioning of initial infrastructure sections.
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Mid-term (6–18 months): CoreWeave begins occupancy, additional tenant leases are signed, and revenue generation begins.
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Long-term (18–36 months): Full 400 MW campus build-out, Applied Digital’s anticipated REIT conversion, global scaling of ABB's solutions, and potential spinoffs in power and cooling technologies.
To accelerate site utilization, Applied Digital may lease the remaining 150 MW to new tenants rather than waiting for CoreWeave to exercise its expansion option, positioning the site for continued growth and strategic development.
This collaboration marks a milestone in AI infrastructure. It’s one of the first publicly announced data center builds centered around medium-voltage design specifically tailored for AI workloads. With a signed 250 MW lease from CoreWeave projected to generate $7 billion over 15 years, the project is also financially significant.
Beyond capacity, the partnership aligns with Applied Digital’s REIT ambitions and underscores ABB’s leadership in AI-ready power technologies. Together, the companies are converging infrastructure development, electrification innovation, and investment strategy to define a new model for hyperscale AI factories.
Toward the Future of AI Factories
The ABB–Applied Digital partnership signals a shift in the fundamentals of data center development, where electrification strategy, hyperscale design and readiness, and long-term financial structuring are no longer separate tracks but part of a unified build philosophy.
As Applied Digital pushes toward REIT status, the Ellendale campus becomes not just a development milestone but a cornerstone asset: a long-term, revenue-generating, AI-optimized property underpinned by industrial-grade power architecture. The 250 MW CoreWeave lease, with the option to expand to 400 MW, establishes a robust revenue base and validates the site’s design as AI-first, not cloud-retrofitted.
At the same time, ABB is positioning itself as a leader in AI data center power architecture, setting a new benchmark for scalable, high-density infrastructure. Its HiPerGuard Medium Voltage UPS, backed by deep global manufacturing and engineering capabilities, reimagines power delivery for the AI era, bypassing the limitations of legacy low-voltage systems. More than a component provider, ABB is now architecting full-stack electrification strategies at the campus level, aiming to make this medium-voltage model the global standard for AI factories.
What’s unfolding in North Dakota is a preview of what’s coming elsewhere: AI-ready campuses that marry investment-grade real estate with next-generation power infrastructure, built for a future measured in megawatts per rack, not just racks per row.
As AI continues to reshape what data centers are and how they’re built, Ellendale may prove to be one of the key locations where the new standard was set.
Strategic Momentum: CoreWeave, Applied Digital, and ABB Driving AI Infrastructure Forward
Meanwhile, CoreWeave’s recent acquisition of Core Scientific highlights the industry’s accelerating shift toward vertically integrated AI infrastructure. The deal significantly expands CoreWeave’s capacity while eliminating billions in future lease liabilities, and can be seen as an aggressive move to control more of the AI compute stack.
This momentum aligns directly with the ABB–Applied Digital build in Ellendale. With ABB’s medium-voltage platform as the electrical backbone and CoreWeave already committed to 250 MW, the campus is shaping up as a flagship for what AI-centric development now requires: scale, resilience, and design maturity from the ground up.
Together, these moves point to an inflection point in data center strategy where the fusion of power innovation, operational scale, and financial structuring is laying the groundwork for hyperscale AI infrastructure worldwide.
Upcoming Webinar
To dive deeper into the game-changing role of medium-voltage power solutions for AI data centers, don’t miss ABB’s upcoming webinar with DCF: “New Approach in Electrical Design to Meet the Demands of AI Factories.” Scheduled for August 13, 2025, at 1:00 PM EDT, this one-hour session will feature an ABB expert discussing how MV UPS technology drives efficiency, resilience, and scalable performance to power the future of AI workloads.
Reserve your spot for this webinar now and explore how this innovative electrical design is shaping the next generation of AI-ready data centers.
About the Author
David Chernicoff
Matt Vincent
A B2B technology journalist and editor with more than two decades of experience, Matt Vincent is Editor in Chief of Data Center Frontier.
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