As large-model training and inference scale up, power consumption at AI compute clusters keeps climbing, and the role of energy storage in AI data center (AIDC) campuses is undergoing a fundamental shift—from an optional backup device to core infrastructure that underpins stable compute operations. The logic behind this shift lies in the layering of the power architecture: the white, grey and green zones correspond to regulation needs at the millisecond, minute and hour levels respectively, and energy storage product portfolios are being restructured accordingly.
1. White, Grey and Black Zones: Storage Matched to Each Layer
A large AIDC campus can be divided, from the inside out, into three zones, each imposing distinct technical requirements on energy storage. The white zone sits inside the server racks, where CBUs and BBUs together absorb the millisecond-level power transients generated by GPUs; products there must deliver both high power density and moderate energy density. The grey zone lies at the power distribution side of the machine rooms, where 800 V high-voltage direct current (HVDC) systems are gradually replacing conventional UPSs; storage units connect directly to the 800 V DC bus and, beyond basic backup duty, participate in peak shaving and demand response. The green zone sits at the interface between the campus and the public grid, where long-duration storage and grid-forming storage smooth the output fluctuations of wind and solar power, keep compute supply uninterrupted, and provide dispatchable capacity to the grid.
The three zones operate on different timescales: milliseconds inside the racks, minutes on the distribution side, and hours at the grid connection point. AIDC energy storage is therefore no longer a single backup battery but a multi-layer combination of rack-level BBUs, machine-room BESS and campus-level storage, with diversified product forms and technology routes.
2. Market Data: The Track Enters a Phase of Acceleration
Two sets of figures—energy consumption and installed capacity—trace the growth curve. Global data center electricity consumption totaled 415 TWh in 2024 and is forecast to double to 945 TWh by 2030. In China, computing-center electricity use reached 170 billion kWh in 2025, or 1.6% of total electricity consumption, and is expected to rise to 800 billion kWh, roughly 6%, by 2030.
Energy storage installations are scaling up in tandem. Global data center storage additions grew from 4 GWh in 2020 to 16.5 GWh in 2024, a compound annual growth rate of 43.0%; industry forecasts put the 2030 figure at 209.4 GWh, lifting the 2024-2030 CAGR to 52.7%. In the first half of 2026, global shipments of lithium battery energy storage systems reached 461.3 GWh, up 71% year on year, with China leading at 202.5 GWh (up 49%) and North America and Europe up 83% and 74% respectively. AIDC storage demand is concentrated in North America, where compute clusters are densest; as overseas orders continue to flow, China’s storage supply chain stands to benefit.
3. Orders Materializing: The Fluence-EVE Long-Term Deal
The market’s acceleration is translating into concrete orders. Energy storage integrator Fluence posted revenue of USD 649.8 million in the third quarter of fiscal 2026 (ended June 30, 2026), up 7.8% year on year and nearly 40% quarter on quarter; new orders signed in the quarter topped USD 1.44 billion, and backlog rose 14% sequentially to USD 6.4 billion. Data center-related orders amounted to roughly USD 850 million, including a contract worth more than USD 500 million with a hyperscale compute operator as well as a large behind-the-meter storage order—AIDC business has become a new growth pillar for Fluence.
On the cell side, EVE Power, a subsidiary of EVE Energy, signed a battery supply framework agreement with Fluence for 2027-2031, covering a total of 206 GWh: 16 GWh committed for delivery in 2027 and 190 GWh of reserved capacity for 2028-2031. In the first half of 2026, EVE Energy shipped 44.46 GWh of energy storage batteries, up 54.88% year on year. The company says it has built backup power solutions covering the full range of AIDC scenarios, and that the long-term deal anchors a strategic partnership while securing medium- and long-term demand from overseas compute storage in advance.
4. Supply Chain and Risk Notes
Rising AIDC storage demand benefits multiple links of the industry chain: upstream, in raw materials and power electronics components, players include Ganfeng Lithium, Tianqi Lithium, Xinleineng, Actionpower and Sinofuse; midstream, in cells and power equipment, EVE Energy, Azure, Zhongheng Electric, Megmeet, Jinpan Technology and TGOOD; downstream, in system integration, Sungrow, CATL and HyperStrong.
For storage companies, the layered power architecture means product matrices must be rebuilt around timescales—millisecond-level power support, minute-level peak shaving and demand response, and hour-level long-duration regulation coexist, and no single product line can cover every scenario. Meanwhile, long-term contracts plus framework agreements are becoming the typical commercial form of overseas AIDC storage, locking in three to five years of visible demand.
Risks deserve equal attention: the pace of technology iteration in AIDC power architectures, delivery and capacity ramp-up of storage products, and the speed at which compute storage demand actually materializes at home and abroad could all fall short of expectations. Worth watching going forward are the progress of layered storage technology routes and the conversion of orders into actual deliveries.
Source material: company announcements by Fluence and EVE Energy, and public media reports
