Can Manufacturers Keep Up with Data Center Demand?
Not since the Internet have we as a society seen a technological revolution quite like what we’re seeing today with artificial intelligence (AI). While some people are certainly more affected by AI than others, it’s nearly impossible to not have been impacted by AI in some way, shape, or form.
For many people, the impact of AI has been felt most directly at work—if they still have a job, that is. Indeed, implementation of AI has been responsible for many people being replaced by computers and algorithms. For those who still have a job, they’re increasingly being asked to use AI tools to help them do their jobs more efficiently.
If your job hasn’t been impacted by AI, you’re certainly not off the hook. If you use social media, you’ve almost certainly been bombarded with AI-generated images and videos, from cartoonish profile pictures to local business advertisements.
Ironically, small business owners who turn to AI to help them generate advertisements, menus, flyers, etc. in the hope of standing out from the crowd ultimately end up looking like every other small business that’s doing the same thing.
The other major impact being felt by communities large and small is the proliferation of AI data centers across the country. As demand for AI grows, the companies behind the technology need exponentially more computing power delivered via dedicated data centers.
Unfortunately, those data centers have come under fire for their use of tremendous amounts of resources, such as water and electricity. Some communities are organizing protests against new data centers, forcing AI companies to change course and look for new areas that might welcome their data centers.
Despite the recent uptick in anti-AI sentiment, AI companies are forging ahead with their plans to build new data centers at a breakneck pace. While communities worry about resource usage, there’s another industry that’s having trouble keeping up with the demands of increasing numbers of data centers: manufacturing.
According to an Industry Week article by Geert De Lombaerde, “[t]he data center boom has been showing up in the manufacturing sector for several quarters now as demand has risen rapidly for steel racks, cooling systems and electrical gear.”
De Lombaerde shares insights from the leaders of Carrier and BorgWarner regarding “the rapid growth they’re seeing and the investments they’re making—and likely need to add to.” For example, “Carrier’s Dave Gitlin said they are recalibrating on the fly just how big their businesses serving data centers could be.”
How big is big? “Gitlin told attendees that Carrier’s data center work making heat management systems, which his team had initially estimated would book $1.5 billion in sales this year, has been ‘phenomenal’ so far. The company is ‘certainly pushing’ to top that number…and its biggest issue ‘is just keeping up.’”
Likewise, BorgWarner President and CEO Joe Fadool notes that they are “applying the company’s extensive history in automotive power electronics and software to the making of equipment for power generation, battery storage and voltage conversion.”
For example, BorgWarner “plans to start making modular turbine generators in Hendersonville, North Carolina, next year. ‘You’re talking about high volume with very high-quality requirements, a very competitive space in automotive,’ he said. ‘That cuts across all three of these [generation, storage and conversion], which allows us to sort of accelerate the disruption.’”
How can manufacturing catch up with the AI data center gold rush? For starters, they’re going to need to hire hundreds of thousands of highly skilled workers to fill the open positions they already have. Unfortunately, that’s easier said than done.
Thanks to an ongoing shortage of skilled workers in the trades, manufacturers continue to face major challenges finding enough workers to fill the roles they need to grow and thrive. So how do companies and schools train the next generation of professionals with the hands-on skills they need to succeed in the modern workplace?
A thorough review of training systems is a great place to start. Do employees and students have access to hands-on training with actual components they’ll encounter on the job? If not, partnering with established companies to provide industrial-quality training systems that will stand the test of time will help ensure a competent workforce.
When it comes to preparing for the continued expansion of AI data centers, manufacturers need to ensure they have a sufficient supply of workers who have advanced skills in areas like electrical and HVACR. Fortunately, a seasoned training equipment provider like DAC Worldwide can pave the way for a successful training program.
For example, DAC Worldwide offers a variety of hands-on electrical training systems that feature the real-world components workers will encounter in the field:
- Transformer Wiring Training System (408-000): a realistic training device that replicates the conditions and circumstances that an electrical worker encounters when making common power transformer connections in the field and industry. This self-contained, tabletop training system provides a safe, inexpensive, yet realistic alternative to paper-based learning without the danger of full-voltage field experience.
- Transformer Connections Training System (491-000): replicates the conditions and circumstances that a utility worker encounters when making common transformer connections in the field. Using this trainer, learners will explore the skills that an operator must master to confidently operate modern generating equipment, such as the paralleling of generators and connecting to a larger power grid.
- Electrical Generation Fundamentals Training System (490-000): represents a true simulator depicting multiple power plants on a grid. The unit basically acts as the control center for a generating station and simulates four separate generating units. The system demonstrates the principles of generator operation and represents the relationships that an operator must master to confidently operate generators.
DAC Worldwide also offers a variety of hands-on HVACR cutaway training tools that consist of real-world components that have been carefully sectioned to allow learners to see each device’s primary components—inside and out. Examples available include:
- Air Filter Cutaway (273-240): consists of a real industrial air filter that has been carefully sectioned to show the complete internal configuration and construction of this common industrial component. Learners can use this cutaway to enhance training related to the operation, construction, and maintenance of industrial air filters.
- Semi-Hermetic Compressor Cutaway (373-120): consists of an expertly sectioned example of a common intermediate (1”-1 ½”) horsepower semi-hermetic refrigeration compressor that facilitates and supports practical training in compressor design, operating principles, and maintenance.
- Open Drive Refrigeration Compressor Cutaway (373-140): consists of an expertly sectioned example of a classic open drive-type reciprocating refrigeration compressor. The training device facilitates and supports industrial learning in the design, operating principles, and maintenance of refrigeration compressors.
Be sure to visit DAC Worldwide online to learn more about its comprehensive selection of industrial training systems and tools!
- Published in News
Texas Becoming Nexus of AI Data Centers
Has artificial intelligence (AI) affected your day-to-day life yet? If it has, then you already know how prevalent this technology has become in a short time. If it hasn’t, well, you may just not realize it yet, as AI seems to have infiltrated nearly every aspect of technology.
AI apps, like ChatGPT and Grok, have become go-to resources for a wide variety of users, from students looking for help with homework to workers seeking assistance with basic job functions. Apps like these, though, are just the tip of the iceberg. AI “engines” are being used to power things behind the scenes in many different types of technology.
The rise of AI has resulted in a race for dominance. Every big tech company is in the race, but it’s unclear where the finish line is, what awaits the winner, or what it will take to get there. These uncertainties aren’t dampening the spirits—or investments—of these companies in AI, though.
In many cases, the race currently takes the form of a rush to build as many large AI data centers as possible. Locations throughout the United States have been targeted for new AI data centers, leading to pushback in many communities over the resources, including water and electricity, that these facilities require.
It’s true that AI data centers require an enormous amount of electricity and water to run their rooms full of supercomputers. In areas where electrical grids are already overtaxed, residents have valid concerns about the effect AI data centers will have on their already-strained resources. At least one project, however, may be taking a new approach to allay some of those concerns.
In an article in The Wall Street Journal, author Bradley Olson reports that a small portion of a sprawling ranch in West Texas will soon be home to a giant new AI data center being planned by AI startup Poolside in conjunction with cloud-infrastructure provider CoreWeave.
What’s different about this AI data center is that the partners chose the location because the complex will be “capable of generating its own power.” “[L]ocated in the heart of the fracking boom,” the site will “take advantage of natural gas produced in the Permian Basin, the epicenter of U.S. drilling activity.”
According to Olson, “Poolside and CoreWeave…are betting that the proximity to natural-gas resources could reduce costs and improve the long-term viability of the data center, as many planned facilities across the U.S. have been built without power generation capabilities.”
The companies plan “to use an on-site gas plant built years ago by Occidental Petroleum and other infrastructure including pipelines will make it possible for the data center to generate its own power.” This could be a game changer, since Olson notes that it’s “far from certain whether many data centers will have sufficient power and water to operate without becoming a significant strain on local resources.”
One thing Olson does not touch upon, but which is another scarce resource that AI data centers will put a strain upon is the supply of skilled workers to build and operate these facilities. In the case of the planned facility in West Texas, workers will be needed that have a wide variety of skills in both the oil and gas sector and electricity and power generation.
How do companies and schools in these areas train the next generation of professionals with the electrical and oil and gas skills they need to succeed in the age of massive AI data centers? Fortunately, there are already companies they can partner with to develop the training programs that will provide workers with the hands-on skills they need to succeed.
For example, DAC Worldwide provides a variety of hands-on training systems for both electrical and oil and gas training:
Be sure to check out DAC Worldwide’s training systems that feature the real-world components workers will encounter in the field!
- Published in News