ON.energy Demonstrates Zero-Voltage Ride-Through for AI Data Centers in Independent Testing
Following ON.energy’s January 2026 deployment of AI UPS at the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Laboratory of the Rockies (NLR), the company today released independent validation results demonstrating the medium-voltage system’s performance under real-world conditions, with results benchmarked against ERCOT's proposed large electronic load (LEL) ride-through requirements. The testing, conducted at 13.2 kV using NLR’s distinct 7 MW and 20 MW controllable grid interface (programmable power supplies) acting as grid and load simulators respectively with GPS-synchronized data acquisition, covered all voltage ride-through requirements while maintaining AI workload transients.
The results come as NERC issues a level 3 alert and ERCOT advances NOGRR 282, a proposed revision that establishes frequency and voltage ride-through requirements for Large Electronic Loads, such as AI data centers and hyperscale compute facilities. ERCOT’s Reliability and Operations Subcommittee (ROS) approved the measure on April 2, 2026, ahead of potential Board endorsement in June and PUCT ratification by July. Under ERCOT’s current interim energization framework for large loads, demonstration of ride-through capability is already a condition for interconnection approval.
Validation Results
Testing confirmed AI UPS performance across key conditions relevant to grid interconnection for large loads:
|
Test Condition |
Relevant ERCOT Requirement |
AI UPS Result |
|
Zero Voltage Ride-Through (ZVRT) |
Must remain connected for 150x ms |
Meets and exceeds |
|
Overvoltage (120%) |
Must withstand ride through for 1 second |
Sustained for 12 seconds |
|
AI Workload Transients (±70% swing) |
Ramp rate compliance required (20%/min proposed) |
≤20%/min ramp-rate limits |
“NOGRR 282 is achievable. We deployed at NLR specifically to run these tests under real-world conditions that match what AI data centers face at interconnection,” said Ricardo de Azevedo, Co-Founder & CTO, ON.energy. “The validated results are definitive: AI UPS rides through a complete zero-voltage event while keeping load voltage stable, and handles ±70% GPU transients without registering on the grid.”
AI UPS, a fully inline grid-safe medium-voltage system purpose-built for AI factories, also enables services such as peak shaving, demand response, energy arbitrage, and ancillary market participation – turning interconnection compliance into a revenue opportunity for data center operators.
ON.energy | https://www.on.energy/technology/grid-safe-ai-ups-white-paper