The Data Center Frontier Show

In this engaging conversation, Rob Campbell, President of Flex Communications, and Chris Butler, President of Flex Power, unveil Flex’s innovative integrated data center platform, designed for the AI era. They discuss how modular designs cut deployment times by up to 30% and explore the groundbreaking use of JetCool’s liquid cooling technology. The duo dives into future power systems, highlighting the shift to 400V and 800V DC architectures. Rob and Chris also emphasize their unique global manufacturing footprint and vision for a circular economy in data center design.

Pavel Durst, Global Accounts and Business Development Manager at ComAp, dives into the transformative impact of AI on data centers. He reveals how AI workloads are skyrocketing power needs, pushing rack consumption from 15 kW to potential 1 MW. Pavel discusses the shift towards high-voltage DC systems for efficiency and addresses the urgent sustainability concerns as data centers become major power consumers. He outlines the technical hurdles of increasing density and the importance of balancing reliability with greener energy solutions.

Bill Severn, CEO of 1623 Farnam, discusses transforming Omaha into a vital interconnection hub for AI and cloud technology. He redefines the edge, emphasizing its role in content aggregation and network density. Severn highlights the strategic importance of 1623 Farnam's location, driving significant fiber growth with over 5,000 new strands. With a focus on multi-cloud needs, he notes increasing demand from local enterprises for direct access to major cloud providers. The facility's energy efficiency, achieving a sub-1.5 PUE, showcases its commitment to sustainable operations.

Rob Macchi, Vice President of Data Center Solutions at Wesco, dives into the booming data center landscape. He shares insights on how AI investments and multi-gigawatt builds are reshaping the industry. Rob discusses the challenges of supply chain management, labor shortages, and power needs in data center construction. He emphasizes the importance of standardization and experienced teams to balance speed with reliability. Additionally, he highlights the positive impacts of data centers on local communities and outlines Wesco's strategy for future growth.

In this episode of the Data Center Frontier Show, we sit down with Ryan Mallory, the newly appointed CEO of Flexential, following a coordinated leadership transition in October from Chris Downie. Mallory outlines Flexential's strategic focus on the AI-driven future, positioning the company at the critical "inference edge" where enterprise CPU meets AI GPU. He breaks down the AI infrastructure boom into a clear three-stage build cycle and explains why the enterprise "killer app"—Agentic AI—plays directly into Flexential's strengths in interconnection and multi-tenant solutions. We also dive into: Power Strategy: How Flexential's modular, 36-72 MW build strategy avoids community strain and wins utility favor. Product Roadmap: The evolution to Gen 5 and Gen 6 data centers, blending air and liquid cooling for mixed-density AI workloads. The Bold Bet: Mallory's vision for the next 2-3 years, which involves "bending the physics curve" with geospatial energy and transmission to overcome terrestrial limits. Tune in for a insightful conversation on power, planning, and the future of data center infrastructure.

On this episode of the Data Center Frontier Show, DartPoints CEO Scott Willis joins Editor in Chief Matt Vincent to discuss why regional data centers are becoming central to the future of AI and digital infrastructure. Fresh off his appearance on the Distributed Edge panel at the 2025 DCF Trends Summit, Willis breaks down how DartPoints is positioning itself in non-tier-one markets across the Midwest, Southeast, and South Central regions—locations he believes will play an increasingly critical role as AI workloads move closer to users. Willis explains that DartPoints’ strategy hinges on a deeply interconnected regional footprint built around carrier-rich facilities and strong fiber connectivity. This fabric is already supporting latency-sensitive workloads such as AI inference and specialized healthcare applications, and Willis expects that demand to accelerate as enterprises seek performance closer to population centers. Following a recent recapitalization with NOVA Infrastructure and Orion Infrastructure Capital, DartPoints has launched four new expansion sites designed from the ground up for higher-density, AI-oriented workloads. These facilities target rack densities from 30 kW to 120 kW and are sized in the 10–50 MW range—large enough for meaningful HPC and AI deployments but nimble enough to move faster than hyperscale builds constrained by long power queues. Speed to market is a defining advantage for DartPoints. Willis emphasizes the company’s focus on brownfield opportunities where utility infrastructure already exists, reducing deployment timelines dramatically. For cooling, DartPoints is designing flexible environments that leverage advanced air systems for 30–40 kW racks and liquid cooling for higher densities, ensuring the ability to support the full spectrum of enterprise, HPC, and edge-adjacent AI needs. Willis also highlights the importance of community partnership. DartPoints’ facilities have smaller footprints and lower power impact than hyperscale campuses, allowing the company to serve as a local economic catalyst while minimizing noise and aesthetic concerns. Looking ahead to 2026, Willis sees the industry entering a phase where AI demand becomes broader and more distributed, making regional markets indispensable. DartPoints plans to continue expanding through organic growth and targeted M&A while maintaining its focus on interconnection, high-density readiness, and rapid, community-aligned deployment. Tune in to hear how DartPoints is shaping the next chapter of distributed digital infrastructure—and why the market is finally moving toward the regional edge model Willis has championed.

In this episode of the Data Center Frontier Show, DCF Editor-in-Chief Matt Vincent speaks with Ed Nichols, President and CEO of Expanse Energy / RRPT Hydro, and Gregory Tarver, Chief Electrical Engineer, about a new kind of hydropower built for the AI era. RRPT Hydro’s piston-driven gravity and buoyancy system generates electricity without dams or flowing rivers—using the downward pull of gravity and the upward lift of buoyancy in sealed cylinders. Once started, the system runs self-sufficiently, producing predictable, zero-emission power. Designed for modular, scalable deployment—from 15 kW to 1 GW—the technology can be installed underground or above ground, enabling data centers to power themselves behind the meter while reducing grid strain and even selling excess energy back to communities. At an estimated Levelized Cost of Energy of $3.50/MWh, RRPT Hydro could dramatically undercut traditional renewables and fossil power. The company is advancing toward commercial readiness (TRL 7–9) and aims to build a 1 MW pilot plant within 12–15 months. Nichols and Tarver describe this moonshot innovation, introduced at the 2025 DCF Trends Summit, as a “Wright Brothers moment” for hydropower—one that could redefine sustainable baseload energy for data centers and beyond. Listen now to explore how RRPT Hydro’s patented piston-driven system could reshape the physics, economics, and deployment model of clean energy.

At this year’s Data Center Frontier Trends Summit, Honghai Song, founder of Canyon Magnet Energy, presented his company’s breakthrough superconducting magnet technology during the “6 Moonshot Trends for the 2026 Data Center Frontier” panel—showcasing how high-temperature superconductors (HTS) could reshape both fusion energy and AI data-center power systems. In this episode of the Data Center Frontier Show, Editor in Chief Matt Vincent speaks with Song about how Canyon Magnet Energy—founded in 2023 and based in New Jersey and Stony Brook University—is bridging fusion research and AI infrastructure through next-generation magnet and energy-storage technology. Song explains how HTS magnets, made from REBCO (Rare Earth Barium Copper Oxide), operate at 77 Kelvin with zero electrical resistance, opening the door to new kinds of super-efficient power transmission, storage, and distribution. The company’s SMASH (Superconducting Magnetic Storage Hybrid) system is designed to deliver instant bursts of energy—within milliseconds—to stabilize GPU-driven AI workloads that traditional batteries and grids can’t respond to fast enough. Canyon Magnet Energy is currently developing small-scale demonstration projects pairing SMES systems with AI racks, exploring integration with DC power architectures and liquid-cooling infrastructure. The long-term roadmap envisions multi-mile superconducting DC lines connecting renewables to data centers—and ultimately, fusion power plants providing virtually unlimited clean energy. Supported by an NG Accelerate grant from New Jersey, the company is now seeking data-center partners and investors to bring these technologies from the lab into the field.

Who is Packet Power? Since 2008, Packet Power has been at the forefront of energy and environmental monitoring, pioneering wireless solutions that helped define the modern Internet of Things (IoT). Built on the belief that energy is the new cost frontier of computation, Packet Power enables organizations to understand exactly where, when, and how energy is used—and at what cost. As AI-driven workloads push energy demand to record levels, Packet Power’s mission of complete energy traceability has never been more critical. Their systems are trusted worldwide for providing secure, out-of-band monitoring that remains fully independent of operational data networks.   Introducing the All-New High-Density Power Monitor Packet Power’s newest innovation, the High-Density Power Monitor, is redefining what’s possible in energy monitoring. At just under 6 cubic inches, it’s the smallest and most scalable multi-circuit power monitoring system on the market, capable of tracking 120 circuits in a space smaller than what’s inside a standard light switch. The High-Density Power Monitor eliminates bulky hardware, complex wiring, and lengthy installations. It’s plug-and-play simple, seamlessly integrates with Packet Power’s EMX software or any third-party monitoring platform, and supports both wired and wireless connectivity—including secure, air-gapped environments.   Solving the Challenges of Modern Power Monitoring The High-Density Power Monitor is engineered for the next generation of high-performance systems and facilities. It tackles five key challenges: Power Density: Monitors high-load environments with unmatched precision. Circuit Density: Tracks more circuits per module than any competitor. Physical Density: Fits anywhere, from PDUs to sub-panels to embedded devices. Installation Simplicity: Snaps into place—no tools, no complexity. Connection Flexibility: Wireless, wired, LAN, cloud, or cellular—you can mix and match freely. Whether managing a single rack or thousands of devices, Packet Power ensures monitoring 1 device is as easy as monitoring 1,000.   Why It Matters Now Today’s computing environments are experiencing an energy density arms race—with systems consuming megawatts of power in a single cabinet. New cooling methods, extreme power densities, and evolving form factors demand monitoring solutions that can keep up. Packet Power’s new High-Density Power Monitor meets that challenge head-on, offering the scalability, adaptability, and visibility needed to manage energy use in the AI era.   Perfect for Any Application This solution is ideal for: High-density servers and compute cabinets Distribution panels, PDUs, and busway components Embedded monitoring in OEM systems Large-scale deployments requiring fleet-level simplicity + more! Whether new installations or retrofitting existing buildings, Packet Power systems deliver vendor-agnostic integration and proven scalability with unmatched turn times and products Made in the USA for BABA compliance.   Learn More! Discover the true meaning of small & mighty:  👉 Visit PacketPower.com/high-density-power-monitor   📧 Contact sales@packetpower.com

In this episode of The Data Center Frontier Show, DCF Editor-in-Chief Matt Vincent talks with Yuval Boger, Chief Commercial Officer at QuEra Computing, about the fast-evolving intersection of quantum and AI-accelerated supercomputing. QuEra, a Boston-based pioneer in neutral-atom quantum computers, recently expanded its $230 million funding round with new investment from NVentures (NVIDIA’s venture arm) and announced a Nature-published breakthrough in algorithmic fault tolerance that dramatically cuts runtime overhead for error-corrected quantum algorithms. Boger explains how QuEra’s systems, operating at room temperature and using identical rubidium atoms as qubits, offer scalable, power-efficient performance for HPC and cloud environments. He details the company's collaborations with NVIDIA, AWS, and global supercomputing centers integrating quantum processors alongside GPUs, and outlines why neutral-atom architectures could soon deliver practical, fault-tolerant quantum advantage. Listen as Boger discusses QuEra’s technology roadmap, market position, and the coming inflection point where hybrid quantum-classical systems move from the lab into the data center mainstream.