Data centers are unforgiving environments for electrical infrastructure. The load never drops, the spaces are enclosed, and the consequences of a cable failure are immediate. GENGU CABLE has supplied low- and medium-voltage XLPE-insulated power cables to data center projects globally, including a Google / Alphabet AI Data Center. That kind of project makes it clear what the electrical system actually needs to perform reliably over decades.
Four requirements come up consistently in data center power cable work. Each one points to a specific cable type, and each one is worth understanding before a specification is locked.
XLPE Insulation: Built for Cables That Never Get to Rest
In most buildings, the electrical load fluctuates. In a data center, it does not. IT equipment, cooling plant and power systems run continuously, which means cables operate near rated current around the clock, year after year.
That sustained load is hard on insulation. PVC softens progressively under heat, gradually narrowing the margin between operating temperature and the point where dielectric performance starts to degrade. XLPE does not behave this way. The cross-linking process gives the polymer a stable three-dimensional structure that holds its properties under continuous thermal load and recovers cleanly from short-circuit events that would damage conventional insulation.
GENGU produces XLPE-insulated power cables up to 35kV within a single product family. Voltage class, conductor configuration and applicable standard are specified to suit the project, covering applications from a medium voltage substation feeder down to low voltage distribution circuits feeding PDUs and UPS systems in the white space.
Fire Performance Inside the White Space: Why Fire-Resistant (FR) LSZH Is the Baseline
A large data center moves a lot of cable through tight spaces: overhead trays, raised floors, risers. That density is manageable under normal conditions. In a fire, it becomes a liability.
Standard PVC cables sustain combustion, release dense smoke and emit halogen gases that form corrosive acids on contact with moisture. In an enclosed server hall, the acid damage spreads far beyond the fire origin, attacking copper busbars, circuit boards and connectors across a wide area long after the fire itself is out.
Fire-Resistant (FR) Low Smoke Zero Halogen (LSZH) cables handle this differently:
- Fire resistance keeps critical circuits operational under direct flame for a defined period, covering emergency lighting and fire suppression systems during an incident
- Low smoke output keeps evacuation routes visible
- Zero halogen content protects surrounding equipment from acid damage
For server halls, control rooms and network galleries, fire-resistant LSZH is not a specification upgrade. It is the sensible baseline for enclosed spaces where people work alongside densely packed electronics.
GENGU supplies fire-resistant LSZH power cables rated for fixed installation in these environments, configurable to the circuit integrity and fire performance classifications your project requires.
Cooling Systems Run on VFDs: Your Cables Need to Keep Up
Chillers, condenser pumps, cooling tower fans and CRAH units are virtually all variable frequency drive-fed in a modern data center. VFDs deliver real efficiency gains, but they create an electrical environment that standard power cables are not built for.
The issue is what VFDs put on the cable:
- Fast-switching voltage pulses with steep rise times that stress insulation far harder than standard AC
- High-frequency common-mode currents that need a defined return path, or they radiate as interference into adjacent circuits
- Reflected voltage waves traveling back toward the motor, amplifying voltage stress at the terminals
Standard cables in these circuits degrade faster, allow noise to spread into surrounding systems and contribute to nuisance trips. VFD power cables are engineered specifically for this: insulation rated for the high dv/dt conditions these drives produce, and full copper shielding that captures high-frequency currents and routes them to ground.
GENGU manufactures VFD power cables at both low and medium voltage levels. The low voltage range covers pump and fan motor circuits throughout the cooling plant. The medium voltage range applies where large chiller installations are fed directly at medium voltage.
Screened LV Cables: When Power and Signal Share the Same Route
Tray space in a data center fills up fast. Power feeders and signal or control cables often end up sharing the same trays and risers because physical separation is not always an option.
An unscreened power cable radiates an electromagnetic field proportional to the current it carries. Adjacent signal cables pick that up as noise, degrading the integrity of monitoring systems, building management networks and control circuits running alongside. In facilities where those systems are critical to operational visibility, it is a real problem, not a theoretical one.
A metallic screen around the power conductors contains that field and gives high-frequency leakage currents a defined low-impedance return path to ground. GENGU manufactures 0.6/1kV power cables with metallic screen/shield for routes where the installation environment demands that level of electromagnetic control.
These are not a blanket replacement for standard LV cables across the facility. They are the right call for specific routes where power and sensitive signal cables cannot be adequately separated.
Working with GENGU on a Data Center Project
Whether you have a full cable schedule ready or are still working through the specification, GENGU’s engineering and sales team can take it from there. With 32 years of power cable manufacturing behind us, we handle projects at any stage—from initial cable selection and laying scheme review through to quotation, production and delivery.
Send us your project details and we will respond with a concrete proposal.
