Executive Summary

• The industry is facing a fork in the road with the introduction of sodium-ion, raising the question: Can data centres build infrastructure that outlives chips?
• Chinese titan CATL have announced a sodium-ion powered battery that has an operational life spanning three decades, a stark contrast to the AI chips that go obsolete every three years.
• Data centres with lithium materials can be volatile and noisy, disturbing communities. But what if the introduction of basic table salt into batteries ensures their survival with quiet, fireproof permanence?

Hardware is constantly being replaced so it can keep up with the level of growth and demand AI is bringing, but is that about to change and can data centres build infrastructure that outlives chips? A Chinese battery company have unveiled a nice product that’s sending waves through the industry with its features and lifespan, meaning it could outlive chips.

Silicon chips go obsolete in the blink of an eye, or three years, to be precise. Three years for an AI data centre is basically a lifetime, because by the time the cluster finishes its training run, the next generation of innovative architecture is bursting through the door, and the cycle repeats. Currently, the temporal rules are being completely rewritten.

The industry disruption

CATL, the Chinese battery titan, unveiled the TENER Sodium system, which is the world’s first mass-produced energy storage which boasts a 30-year operational lifespan. Yes, 30 years. Currently, servers are trapped in a 3-year rinse and repeat cycle, the external battery would outlive tenfold. The mega-batteries also hit 15,000 cycles with zero power or capacity degradation in the first five years, with a 70% State of Health. This could have the potential to fully disrupt the data centre industry and change the game dramatically.

It’s an industry paradox for infrastructure engineers because this clean backup storage system is engineered to outlast six consecutive generations of AI servers that they need to protect. On top of that, it’s the table salt-powered architecture that would replace the volatile lithium fire hazards, resulting in a 65-decibel whisper-quiet, cooler neighbour for communities.

The metamorphosis

Typically, batteries need constant monitoring and replacement and end up being an operational headache to deal with. Financially, batteries could be a volatile operational line item with traditional lithium-ion systems akin to tyres on a race car; you burn through them, track their health anxiously and budget for the multi-million-dollar replacement cycle inside of a decade, which is inevitable.

With CATL’s new battery, this would shift and the battery sector would undergo a metamorphosis. The degradiation horizon stretches to 30 years, making batteries a more stable, long-term infrastructure asset, which alters how data centres are valued over their lifetime.

The impact on the industry

Not only are the TENER Sodium modules completely platform-compatible with existing LFP (lithium-iron-phosphate) layouts, they share the same system interfaces, container dimensions and physical footprint, which makes it easier to integrate into existing infrastructure.

For hyperscale developers, it’s an immediate shield, akin to Captain America’s, because they can pivot if needed.  Say if lithium material costs skyrocket because of supply chain disruptions, pivoting to procure sodium-ion containers mid-project is easy to go through without having to redesign or alter anything.

There will be a critical fork in the road for developers between lithium-ion and sodium-ion, with the differences in their impact being drastic. We’re looking at a profound industry shift as we start to look at data centres being the multi-decade quiet presence with sodium-ion infrastructure. There’s a feeling of permanence in the air, a stark contrast to the compute side of data centres, which sprints ahead, breaking and burning through silicon every thousand days. We now have infrastructure that can be operational for three decades. Such a paradox and strange concept for the industry that’s growing at breakneck speed.