Against the backdrop of rapid advancements in artificial intelligence and computing power, data centers are evolving from traditional IT infrastructure to critical infrastructure that supports the operation of the digital economy and intelligent era. With the accelerated implementation of artificial intelligence data centers (AIDC) and intelligent computing centers, the role and value of backup power sources are being redefined.
On May 15th, the 2026 Data Center Backup Power Xiangshan Forum (Wuxi Station), hosted by CDCC and co organized by Cummins (China) Investment Co., Ltd., was successfully held. More than 200 industry experts and technical representatives from design institutes, data center owners, and operators gathered together to have in-depth exchanges on the new challenges, new paths, and new practices faced by AIDC backup power supply under the rapid development of artificial intelligence.
In the era of computing power, Cummins hopes to become a global partner that brings customers the greatest 'certainty', relying on global experience, system level solutions, and multi-path technology capabilities to help customers build a more stable and predictable power security system in the era of computing power.
CDCC team leader and chief editor of the "Data Center Project Specification", Zhong Jinghua, provides authoritative interpretation of the national mandatory engineering construction specifications, emphasizing the bottom line requirements of providing safety, reliability, energy conservation, and environmental protection for data centers through project specifications. The use of backup power can improve the reliability of the power supply and distribution system, and the comprehensive utilization of mains power, green power, energy storage, and backup power is the development direction of the future data center power supply field.
Backup power sources move towards a new stage of 'deterministic guarantee'
With the large-scale implementation of large-scale model training and inference applications, AIDC presents new features such as high power density, strong volatility, and long-term continuous operation. Compared to traditional data centers, the power fluctuations of AI loads in seconds or even milliseconds pose higher requirements for the stability and reliability of the power system.
Cummins experts also pointed out that the high power fluctuation load of AIDC poses significant challenges to the power supply system, and special measures need to be taken to suppress this fluctuation and reduce its impact on the power supply system. The mixed use of diesel generators and energy storage systems is a good solution.
System Architecture and Engineering Practice
During the forum, the S9 high-voltage upgraded version of the generator, based on Stanford's mature product platform and upgraded with key technical capabilities, was officially unveiled. Targeting data centers and various types of critical load applications, this product has stronger dynamic response capabilities, significantly reduces transient voltage fluctuations, improves performance, and enhances system stability, reliability, and maintainability. It will be assembled on top of Cummins power generators to further enhance overall performance and promote Cummins power generators to provide more reliable and continuous power support for critical loads such as AIDC.
Robots have become important guests in the product launch phase, making the backup power supply more tangible from "supporting computing power" to "embracing computing power".
At the same time, the forum also showcased Cummins' excellent manufacturing and delivery capabilities through live streaming experts visiting the Stanford generator manufacturing plant, allowing online and offline guests to have a visual understanding of the generator manufacturing and delivery process. This also deepened the industry's understanding of diesel generator products.
