Microsoft touts far-off high-temperature superconducting tech for datacenter efficiency
(2026/02/10)
- Reference: 1770759948
- News link: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2026/02/10/microsoft_high_temperature_superconductors_hopium/
- Source link:
Microsoft wants you to know that it has found a new way of saving power at its datacenters using high-temperature superconducting (HTS) power delivery systems. And good news: it'll be possible ... someday.
Redmond is looking to HTS power delivery systems as a replacement for copper and aluminum wires that wind their ways through modern datacenters for several reasons. Chief among those is improved power delivery efficiency, Azure infrastructure GM Alistair Speirs explained in a [1]blog post Tuesday.
High-temperature superconductors offer lossless power delivery thanks to the elimination of nearly all electrical resistance thanks to cooling provided by liquid nitrogen surrounding the superconducting tape used to move electrical energy. HTS cables don't generate heat either, and according to Microsoft, are more spacially efficient than traditional cables.
[2]
Per Speirs, traditional conductors require datacenter operators to choose between substation expansions, adding more feeders, reducing deployment densities, or simply not enlarging a facility at all. Superconductors could "break this tradeoff," he noted, by allowing for increased electrical density without a larger physical footprint.
[3]
[4]
"Microsoft is investigating HTS technology to understand how our datacenters can meet the growing demand for power and how to improve our operational sustainability," Speirs said. "Because superconductors take up less space to move large amounts of power, they could help us build cleaner, more compact systems."
Of course, nothing is ever quite as simple as saying, hey, we've arrived at a new paradigm of power transmission that'll solve all our datacenter problems, and Microsoft's HTS plans are no exception.
[5]
HTS cables aren't widely deployed, even in conventional grid-scale power operations, because they're expensive and superconducting materials aren't readily available. [6]According to the European Network of Transmission System Operators for Electricity, after factoring in the cost to cool HTS cables, they're often more expensive than traditional solutions, and getting high voltage transmission out of the current generation of HTS lines is also a challenge.
Microsoft became an investor in HTS power delivery firm Veir in [7]early 2025 as part of the company's $75 million series B funding round, and Veir has been involved in developing datacenter HTS systems for Microsoft since then.
But Veir only had its first successful demonstration of a datacenter HTS power delivery system in [8]November . Even then, the demo saw Veir deliver just 3 megawatts of power through a single cable in what it called a "simulated and scalable datacenter environment."
[9]
VEIR's demonstration of HTS datacenter wiring - Click to enlarge
Veir said it's moving toward "full commercialization in 2026," but that doesn't mean Microsoft will be deploying the tech anytime soon.
"HTS remains in the development and evaluation stage for adoption at Microsoft's scale," a company spokesperson told The Register in an email, noting that the technology isn't new, and Microsoft mentioned its exploration of the HTS due to recent advances in the tech. Nonetheless, it's still an early project.
[10]
"Right now, the focus is on testing, validating and building confidence in the technology with partners," the Microsoft rep told us. "The work underway now is about understanding where HTS could make sense, and we're excited by the potential we're seeing."
[11]AI's $3T infrastructure binge continues despite lack of clear profits
[12]AI is rewriting how power flows through the datacenter
[13]Datacenters that don't have their own power supplies will fail
[14]AI datacenter boom could end badly, Goldman Sachs warns
It's a common refrain in recent datacenter projects: A company claims they've changed the game by partnering with the provider of a new technology (e.g., [15]small modular nuclear reactors ), but that tech is nowhere near ready for the commercial market, so the old standard (e.g., [16]natural gas power ) carries on unimpeded while said company tries to deflect datacenter criticisms (e.g., power transmission [17]costs , [18]emissions , and [19]water usage ) by touting its new plans.
Beyond a nebulous claim that HTS transmission lines will reduce "the physical and social footprint of the power infrastructure" of its datacenters, thus "reducing the impact on local communities," Microsoft doesn't even bother to make claims of how HTS will benefit anyone but Microsoft, but even that is couched in language suggesting nothing is going to change anytime soon.
"Next-gen superconducting transmission lines ... can accelerate the expansion and interconnection of datacenter sites, speeding up compute deployment to meet the growing global demand," Speirs said. "But unlocking their full potential will require reexamining traditional power system assumptions and rethinking today's approaches to power transmission and datacenter design."
In other words, here's yet another solution for the problems presented by datacenters that's naught but a distant dream. ®
Get our [20]Tech Resources
[1] https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/blog/can-high-temperature-superconductors-transform-the-power-infrastructure-of-datacenters/
[2] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/science&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2aYu4kBdzBnmiQlgA9oJNgwAAAcg&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
[3] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/science&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44aYu4kBdzBnmiQlgA9oJNgwAAAcg&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[4] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/science&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33aYu4kBdzBnmiQlgA9oJNgwAAAcg&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[5] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/science&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44aYu4kBdzBnmiQlgA9oJNgwAAAcg&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[6] https://www.entsoe.eu/technopedia/techsheets/high-temperature-superconducting-cables/
[7] https://vcnewsdaily.com/veir/venture-capital-funding/cfgpkvyssv
[8] https://veir.com/veir-successfully-demonstrates-3-megawatt-superconducting-power-delivery-for-ai-data-centers-eleminating-critical-growth-bottleneck/
[9] https://regmedia.co.uk/2026/02/10/veir-hts-datacenter-demo.jpg
[10] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/science&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33aYu4kBdzBnmiQlgA9oJNgwAAAcg&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[11] https://www.theregister.com/2026/01/14/ai_investment/
[12] https://www.theregister.com/2025/12/22/ai_power_datacenter/
[13] https://www.theregister.com/2025/12/04/gartner_datacenter_power_emerging_technologies/
[14] https://www.theregister.com/2025/12/12/ai_datacenter_investments_goldman/
[15] https://www.theregister.com/2025/12/17/smr_investment/
[16] https://www.theregister.com/2026/01/29/ai_datacenter_boom_tripled_us_gas_power_builds/
[17] https://www.theregister.com/2025/10/13/ai_power_bills/
[18] https://www.theregister.com/2025/01/22/datacenter_emissions_not_accurate/
[19] https://www.theregister.com/2026/01/28/microsoft_more_server_farms/
[20] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
Redmond is looking to HTS power delivery systems as a replacement for copper and aluminum wires that wind their ways through modern datacenters for several reasons. Chief among those is improved power delivery efficiency, Azure infrastructure GM Alistair Speirs explained in a [1]blog post Tuesday.
High-temperature superconductors offer lossless power delivery thanks to the elimination of nearly all electrical resistance thanks to cooling provided by liquid nitrogen surrounding the superconducting tape used to move electrical energy. HTS cables don't generate heat either, and according to Microsoft, are more spacially efficient than traditional cables.
[2]
Per Speirs, traditional conductors require datacenter operators to choose between substation expansions, adding more feeders, reducing deployment densities, or simply not enlarging a facility at all. Superconductors could "break this tradeoff," he noted, by allowing for increased electrical density without a larger physical footprint.
[3]
[4]
"Microsoft is investigating HTS technology to understand how our datacenters can meet the growing demand for power and how to improve our operational sustainability," Speirs said. "Because superconductors take up less space to move large amounts of power, they could help us build cleaner, more compact systems."
Of course, nothing is ever quite as simple as saying, hey, we've arrived at a new paradigm of power transmission that'll solve all our datacenter problems, and Microsoft's HTS plans are no exception.
[5]
HTS cables aren't widely deployed, even in conventional grid-scale power operations, because they're expensive and superconducting materials aren't readily available. [6]According to the European Network of Transmission System Operators for Electricity, after factoring in the cost to cool HTS cables, they're often more expensive than traditional solutions, and getting high voltage transmission out of the current generation of HTS lines is also a challenge.
Microsoft became an investor in HTS power delivery firm Veir in [7]early 2025 as part of the company's $75 million series B funding round, and Veir has been involved in developing datacenter HTS systems for Microsoft since then.
But Veir only had its first successful demonstration of a datacenter HTS power delivery system in [8]November . Even then, the demo saw Veir deliver just 3 megawatts of power through a single cable in what it called a "simulated and scalable datacenter environment."
[9]
VEIR's demonstration of HTS datacenter wiring - Click to enlarge
Veir said it's moving toward "full commercialization in 2026," but that doesn't mean Microsoft will be deploying the tech anytime soon.
"HTS remains in the development and evaluation stage for adoption at Microsoft's scale," a company spokesperson told The Register in an email, noting that the technology isn't new, and Microsoft mentioned its exploration of the HTS due to recent advances in the tech. Nonetheless, it's still an early project.
[10]
"Right now, the focus is on testing, validating and building confidence in the technology with partners," the Microsoft rep told us. "The work underway now is about understanding where HTS could make sense, and we're excited by the potential we're seeing."
[11]AI's $3T infrastructure binge continues despite lack of clear profits
[12]AI is rewriting how power flows through the datacenter
[13]Datacenters that don't have their own power supplies will fail
[14]AI datacenter boom could end badly, Goldman Sachs warns
It's a common refrain in recent datacenter projects: A company claims they've changed the game by partnering with the provider of a new technology (e.g., [15]small modular nuclear reactors ), but that tech is nowhere near ready for the commercial market, so the old standard (e.g., [16]natural gas power ) carries on unimpeded while said company tries to deflect datacenter criticisms (e.g., power transmission [17]costs , [18]emissions , and [19]water usage ) by touting its new plans.
Beyond a nebulous claim that HTS transmission lines will reduce "the physical and social footprint of the power infrastructure" of its datacenters, thus "reducing the impact on local communities," Microsoft doesn't even bother to make claims of how HTS will benefit anyone but Microsoft, but even that is couched in language suggesting nothing is going to change anytime soon.
"Next-gen superconducting transmission lines ... can accelerate the expansion and interconnection of datacenter sites, speeding up compute deployment to meet the growing global demand," Speirs said. "But unlocking their full potential will require reexamining traditional power system assumptions and rethinking today's approaches to power transmission and datacenter design."
In other words, here's yet another solution for the problems presented by datacenters that's naught but a distant dream. ®
Get our [20]Tech Resources
[1] https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/blog/can-high-temperature-superconductors-transform-the-power-infrastructure-of-datacenters/
[2] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/science&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2aYu4kBdzBnmiQlgA9oJNgwAAAcg&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
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[5] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/science&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44aYu4kBdzBnmiQlgA9oJNgwAAAcg&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[6] https://www.entsoe.eu/technopedia/techsheets/high-temperature-superconducting-cables/
[7] https://vcnewsdaily.com/veir/venture-capital-funding/cfgpkvyssv
[8] https://veir.com/veir-successfully-demonstrates-3-megawatt-superconducting-power-delivery-for-ai-data-centers-eleminating-critical-growth-bottleneck/
[9] https://regmedia.co.uk/2026/02/10/veir-hts-datacenter-demo.jpg
[10] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/science&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33aYu4kBdzBnmiQlgA9oJNgwAAAcg&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[11] https://www.theregister.com/2026/01/14/ai_investment/
[12] https://www.theregister.com/2025/12/22/ai_power_datacenter/
[13] https://www.theregister.com/2025/12/04/gartner_datacenter_power_emerging_technologies/
[14] https://www.theregister.com/2025/12/12/ai_datacenter_investments_goldman/
[15] https://www.theregister.com/2025/12/17/smr_investment/
[16] https://www.theregister.com/2026/01/29/ai_datacenter_boom_tripled_us_gas_power_builds/
[17] https://www.theregister.com/2025/10/13/ai_power_bills/
[18] https://www.theregister.com/2025/01/22/datacenter_emissions_not_accurate/
[19] https://www.theregister.com/2026/01/28/microsoft_more_server_farms/
[20] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
cyberdemon
I am oddly reminded of a Danish TV series..
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Follow_the_Money_(TV_series)
There was a scene in that where they hoodwinked some Saudi investors into believing they had developed high temperature superconductors.. Or something
https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/mar/26/follow-the-money-recap-episodes-three-and-four-superconductors-and-snogs
It was a great series, would recommend
Paul Herber
'Microsoft touts'
Ah oui, c'est tout.
Datacenters already cost so much
DS999
Might as well add some power cabling made of unobtainium to really jack up the price!
Trying to impress some tech-ignorant investors I suppose.