Flex Power Modules, in partnership with Renesas, delivers advanced board-mounted power management solutions tailored for AI workloads.
These Voltage Regulator Module (VRM) and Vertical Power Supply (VPD) products are designed for CPUs, GPUs, FPGAs, ASICs, and accelerator cards, offering fast transient response, high efficiency, and strong thermal performance.
With the modular design expertise and manufacturing capability of Flex Power Modules and the market scalability of Renesas’ distribution network, the new VRM solutions combine the design expertise of both companies.
The key objective of this strategic partnership is to develop the next generation of board-mounted power management solutions designed for CPUs, GPUs, FPGAs, ASICs, and accelerator cards that power artificial intelligence workloads.
Considering the stringent power demands of AI-enabled data centre processors, the new VRM and VPD products are designed to deliver faster transient response, maximum efficiency, and superior thermal performance.
In an exclusive interview with Electronic Specifier, Olle Hellgren, Director Product Management and Marketing at Flex Power Modules, emphasised that the solutions created leverage the technological expertise of both partners to combine jointly developed designs with Flex’s advanced manufacturing capabilities.
The alliance with Renesas
Flex Power Modules already used Renesas Smart Power Stages (SPS) for VPD solutions, so this announcement builds on an existing relationship.
Hellgren added: “We identified opportunities to extend our VPD collaboration, combining Renesas’ smart power stage with Flex Power Modules’ modularisation and packaging competences to also offer high performance VRM solutions for AI applications.”
Flex Power Modules has deep R&D knowledge of DC/DC products, going back more than 45 years. For this collaboration, it developed the product and will manufacture it. Renesas provided the smart power stages and participated in joint development with some key customers.
“For some examples of the joint development, Renesas improved their SPS several times during development in order to increase efficiency and Flex Power Modules optimised inductor and layout of PCB to better meet customers’ requirements for the VRM modules,” Hellgren said.
Providing experience, innovations, and services
VPD solutions are always customised products which match the unique patterns of customers’ xPUs. Flex Power Modules will re-use building blocks and best practices to meet aggressive timelines in the area of AI power applications.
“Our products are targeting AI applications of any kind and can be used for both training and inference,” Hellgren underlined.
Flex Power Modules has a long track record in board-mounted digital DC/DC converters, and it jointly works with the technology leaders to develop innovative, next-gen power solutions.
Hellgren added: “If we look at all of Flex, we are a global company with an extensive data centre infrastructure portfolio, able to support our customers from grid-to-chip for data centre applications around the world.”
Meeting the demands of AI-powered processors
Rack power is quickly increasing from 50kW per rack to 1MW per rack for next-generation AI workloads, and that is forcing a change in data centre rack architecture.
“Power and cooling racks will be separated from IT racks, and HVDC (+/-400/800V) is needed to maintain high efficiency,” Hellgren explained.
New generation xPUs are launched every 12 months, so it is important to develop solutions fast to meet new requirements.
Hellgren added: “Both power/peak power and transient response increase in each generation. A great example of how we are addressing this is the use of our TLVR inductors that help improve transient response time.”
Enabling next-generation AI infrastructure
With competitiveness and data centre capacity tightly intertwined, choosing the right partner to deliver next-generation power and cooling solutions at scale is central to data centre operators’ growth strategies.
“Flex enables companies to expand data centre capacity faster and more cost-effectively,” Hellgren noted.
Its capabilities include advanced manufacturing methods, a robust portfolio of mission-critical integrated power and cooling solutions, vertically integrated system rack design, and end-to-end lifecycle services available in all major global regions.
“We are seeing that many North American data centre operators and hyperscalers are cooperating with ODMs from Asia, and Flex Power Modules can be a bridge and facilitator to help enable optimised power system solutions in these kinds of collaborations,” Hellgren concluded.
About the author:
Diego de Azcuénaga, Contributing Writer
