China Power Equipment Notes from the road; takeaways from industry conferences in Shanghai

Research evidence excerpt

China Power Equipment Notes from the road; takeaways from industry conferences in Shanghai

Stephen Tsui, CFA AC Asia Pacific Equity Research

(852) 2800-8592 11 June 2026 J P M O R G A N

stephen.tsui@jpmorgan.com

voltage AC input to 800V DC output architecture for AI data centers. Disclosed

specifications include 2.5MW single-system capacity, 98.5% end-to-end efficiency

and >99.999% availability, alongside claimed footprint and delivery-cycle savings

versus traditional architectures. Eaton indicated it has a domestic reference project that

has been operating for over a year, supporting product validation, though broader market

adoption still appears to be at an early stage. The product mainly targets China and

Southeast Asia, while Eaton’s U.S. MV SST product uses different design parameters,

including voltage level and cooling method, reflecting differences in grid standards and

customer requirements.

• Competitive interest in SST is high, but adoption timing remains uncertain. We met

with multiple electrical equipment companies (~10 companies) working on SST / HVDC

products, including transformer suppliers, LV electrical companies and SOEs, but most

offerings still appear to be in prototype, sample, certification or early reference-project

stages. Views on China adoption are mixed: some suppliers see 800V DC / SST becoming

necessary as AI rack density rises and traditional AC architecture becomes less suitable,

while others believe high-density demand remains limited and AC will likely remain the

mainstream architecture over the next few years. SST remains more expensive than

traditional solutions today, though suppliers expect ASPs to decline with scale and

technology maturity; broader shipments may become more visible in 2027–28.