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Alphabet spin-off SIP launches Verrus, a data center concept built around battery ‘microgrids’

Sidewalk Infrastructure Partners -- the Alphabet spinout that focuses on building and backing new approaches to complicated infrastructure problems in

Verrus incorporates “microgrids” based on advanced, high-power batteries with software to understand and allocate energy to specific tasks and applications, and it is designed to address some of power challenges posed by modern computing needs. There are as of yet no signed customers, although Winer said that a number of “hyperscalers” — one of whom, Alphabet, remains a primary backer of SIP after spinning it out several years ago — have shown interest in the project for when it does come online and would likely become one of its target segments when seeking investment. Verrus’s proposal is to instead use what Winer refers to as a “micro grid” that will include a high-capacity battery, which will mean it will be more flexible to deploy power to specific areas or even projects within a data center.

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