Vertiv and Caterpillar have inked a strategic collaboration to co-develop advanced energy optimization solutions tailored for data centers. The partnership, announced on November 18, merges Vertiv’s power distribution and cooling expertise with Caterpillar’s and its subsidiary Solar Turbines’ prowess in power generation and combined cooling, heat, and power (CCHP) systems. This alliance aims to deliver pre-designed architectures that streamline deployment, expedite time-to-power, and enhance performance for data center operations.
The collaboration is a direct response to the escalating demand for on-site energy solutions that provide reliable power and cooling. By combining their strengths, the companies offer a fully integrated solution with validated interfaces and performance, enabling customers to accelerate design, installation, and deployment. Caterpillar and Solar Turbines will supply power generation solutions, including natural gas turbines and reciprocating engines, to deliver dependable, scalable electric power and thermal energy for CCHP. Vertiv will contribute a complete portfolio of power and cooling solutions and services, packaged as modular, pre-designed blocks to shorten design cycles and standardize deployment.
Customers stand to gain several advantages from this partnership. The use of pre-designed, modular reference architectures accelerates time-to-power, while the end-to-end optimization of power, cooling, distribution, and dynamic load management lowers Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE). This improvement enables better energy efficiency and a reduced carbon footprint compared to traditional designs. Additionally, the collaboration offers global lifecycle support backed by the trusted service and support networks of both Vertiv and Caterpillar.
Gio Albertazzi, CEO of Vertiv, emphasized the significance of this collaboration, stating, “This collaboration with Caterpillar and Solar Turbines is a cornerstone of our Bring Your Own Power & Cooling (BYOP&C) strategy and aligns seamlessly with our grid-to-chip framework by offering resilient, on-site power generation solutions. This is optimal for customers looking to reduce or eliminate grid dependence. By combining our complementary technologies, portfolios, and expertise, we are enabling coordinated integration. Our pre-engineered, interoperability-tested building blocks let customers execute design, build, and deploy concurrently, with predictable system performance.”
Jason Kaiser, group president of Caterpillar Power & Energy, highlighted the growing demand for robust and scalable power infrastructure and cooling driven by AI workloads. He noted, “Our collaboration with Vertiv will enable us to deliver integrated, on-site energy solutions that lower PUE and meet customers’ evolving needs.”
This initiative represents a pivotal step in refining the ecosystem for data center energy solutions, enabling customers to overcome energy constraints and deploy optimized AI centers. The Vertiv and Caterpillar Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) underscores a coordinated, customer-first approach to solution design and implementation, potentially reshaping the landscape of data center energy management.