Vertiv Unveils 3.0 MVA Outdoor UPS for AI Data Centers

By Daniel Okafor

Vertiv introduced the 3.0 MVA PowerNexus MV UPS on November 12, 2026. The company expects shipments to begin in mid-2027 for colocation, neocloud and hyperscale operators. Vertiv says the outdoor system is designed to protect AI data centers at their medium-voltage grid connection.

What does the outdoor system combine?

According to Vertiv, PowerNexus combines an uninterruptible power supply, fault ride-through and AI power smoothing in one outdoor architecture. Placed at the utility connection, it is intended to keep rapid AI load swings from reaching the grid while moving power-conversion equipment out of indoor rooms. Vertiv says the relocation frees indoor space for IT equipment.

Vertiv’s product documentation says utilities increasingly require data centers to demonstrate grid interactivity, long-duration energy storage and load-fluctuation management as conditions of approval. By integrating battery storage and grid-interactive controls with the UPS, Vertiv intends to eliminate a separate procurement and installation step for a standalone battery system. Vertiv says the commercial benefit is fewer separate systems to procure and install, while utility-facing equipment remains outdoors and indoor space stays available for IT hardware.

How does the power train work?

Vertiv’s data sheet puts the main power train in a 40-foot outdoor skid. The skid contains a transformer, line reactor, converters and controls.

• Long-duration batteries sit in separate containers.
• Switchgear is optional.
• Backup options run from one to four hours.
• The 34.5 kV system is rated for up to 98.5% peak efficiency.

Vertiv says pairing PowerNexus with those batteries is designed to reduce reliance on diesel generators.

Vertiv’s data sheet traces grid power through the reactor and coupling transformer to redundant power-conversion systems. Those converters manage battery charging and load supply. During an outage, they switch connected loads to battery power. On-grid, the converters also provide reactive-power support and harmonic compensation. Vertiv presents these as power-quality functions beyond basic backup.

Together, these functions move power management toward the grid interface while allowing the data hall to retain space reserved for computing equipment.

Where can PowerNexus fit?

PowerNexus uses a line-interactive design for new AI data centers and expansions, not low-voltage retrofits, according to Vertiv. For an existing low-voltage campus, the system joins legacy capacity when new halls or added capacity are built, rather than replacing an indoor UPS in place.

Vertiv continues to support its low-voltage UPS portfolio. The company positions PowerNexus as a campus-architecture choice, not a drop-in replacement for an indoor UPS.

What have the demonstrations shown?

Vertiv makes a Power Systems Computer Aided Design (PSCAD) model available for customers to simulate integration, power quality and dynamic interactions with the wider electrical grid before deployment.

Vertiv has also hosted proof-of-concept demonstrations with QTS, SoftBank and Rosendin at its power research and customer center in Bologna, Italy.

Vertiv reports:

• Stable performance from 0–100% load.
• Class 1 voltage accuracy during rapid load changes.
• Ride-through of a 100% voltage sag for 150 milliseconds.
• Ride-through of 25% overvoltage for five seconds.

Vertiv says Class 1 concerns output-voltage quality under the IEC 62040-3 UPS standard when the system operates with long-duration batteries.

Ryan Kuithe, senior vice president of facilities operations at QTS, said the testing “validated the system’s ability to maintain stable power through dynamic load changes and voltage disturbances.” Vertiv says the announced results concern demonstrations rather than commercial operation at a customer site.

What must happen before commercial deployment?

Vertiv plans a dedicated Medium Voltage Laboratory at its Global Large Power R&D and Customer Experience Center in Bologna, scheduled to become operational in 2027. The facility is designed for research and development, full-voltage validation, customer demonstrations, service training and system-level testing.

Its scope includes medium-voltage UPS, conversion from medium voltage to 800-volt direct current, and battery energy-storage technologies.

PowerNexus brings backup duration, power quality and grid-disturbance management into one outdoor architecture while preserving indoor area for compute. The immediate evidence remains simulation and customer demonstrations, not installed customer capacity. For Vertiv, the central test is whether the company can move from Bologna test results to shipped systems on the planned mid-2027 schedule.