Microsoft-backed Veir is pioneering the use of superconducting cables to address the escalating power demands of modern data centers. As data center power needs have surged from tens to 200 kilowatts in just a few years, industry leaders are now grappling with the challenge of designing facilities capable of handling multi-megawatt racks. “In the next couple of years, it’s going to be 600 kilowatts, and then we’re going to a megawatt,” said Tim Heidel, CEO of Veir. “We’re speaking to folks that are now trying to wrap their heads around the architecture for how you design data centers that have multi-megawatt racks.” At these extreme power levels, even low-voltage copper cables become impractical—occupying too much space and generating excessive heat. Veir’s solution is to bring superconducting technology inside data centers. Its first product is a cable system capable of delivering 3 megawatts of low-voltage electricity with near-zero energy loss. To demonstrate the technology, Veir built a simulated data center near its Massachusetts headquarters. The system will undergo pilot testing in real data centers next year, with a full commercial launch expected by 2027. Superconductors conduct electricity without resistance, but only when cooled to extremely low temperatures—typically below -196°C (-321°F). Veir uses liquid nitrogen to maintain these conditions. The company repurposed its existing superconducting cable technology, originally developed for long-distance power transmission, for use in data center environments. It sources superconducting materials from established suppliers and encases them in insulated jackets to contain the coolant. Termination boxes at each end transition the power from superconducting material to standard copper wiring. “We’re really a systems integrator that builds the cooling systems, manufactures the cables, and puts the whole system together to deliver enormous amounts of power in a small footprint,” Heidel explained. The result is a system that uses 20 times less space than copper cables and can transmit power five times farther. This efficiency is critical as AI-driven workloads push data centers toward unprecedented power densities. While utilities have been slow to adopt superconductors due to regulatory and operational caution, the data center sector is moving much faster. “The pace at which the data center community is moving, evolving, growing, and tackling challenges is far higher than the transmission community,” Heidel noted. Veir has been in discussions with data center operators for years, but recently the tone has shifted. “We were seeing a lot of folks saying, ‘Oh this grid interconnection problem is a real thing, and we got to figure out how to solve that.’ But then a handful of potential customers started turning around and saying, we actually have really hard problems to solve on our campuses and inside of our buildings,” Heidel said. With AI accelerating demand for computing power, data center operators are under intense pressure to innovate. Veir’s technology offers a promising path forward—delivering massive power in a compact, efficient form.