Samsung SDI said on 10 November that its SDI U8A3-UPS backup battery had won a CES 2027 Innovation Award and claimed it improves space efficiency by 33% over existing products, Seoul Economic Daily reported.
Key points
- The Consumer Technology Association selected the battery for an award in the enterprise technology category.
- Samsung SDI says the prismatic-cell system supplies backup power during outages and can respond to sharp increases in AI computing demand.
- The award is Samsung SDI’s third consecutive CES Innovation Award win, following recognition for cylindrical batteries and battery safety technology.
The Consumer Technology Association announced the CES 2027 awards on 9 November. Samsung SDI’s selection was in the enterprise technology category. CES, an annual electronics and IT exhibition, is scheduled to take place in Las Vegas in January. The award concerns a battery for an uninterruptible power supply, or UPS, which provides emergency electricity to facilities such as data centres when their normal supply is interrupted.
SDI U8A3-UPS targets space and power demands
The SDI U8A3-UPS uses prismatic cells based on lithium manganese oxide. Samsung SDI attributes its claimed 33% improvement in space efficiency over existing products to the cells’ high output and energy density. The company says operators can provide power with fewer battery units, reducing the space taken up by a UPS installation.
The product is designed for two demands on a data centre’s power system. It supplies backup electricity if power is interrupted. Samsung SDI also says it can provide power when AI computing causes a sudden increase in demand, with the aim of preventing server failures and data loss.
Data centre power is one of Samsung SDI’s product lines beyond the UPS award winner. AI Affairs previously reported its debut of a cylindrical LFP battery for AI data centres at an event in Singapore. The award-winning SDI U8A3-UPS instead uses prismatic lithium manganese oxide cells.
UL Solutions test centres on fire safety
The battery also underwent a large-scale indoor fire test conducted by UL Solutions, a safety certification body. It was the first battery worldwide to meet every evaluation criterion in that test, Seoul Economic Daily reported. Samsung SDI described the result as evidence of the product’s fire safety.
Fire safety sits alongside output and installation space in Samsung SDI’s pitch for the UPS system. The company says the battery’s high output can support a data centre through a surge in demand, while the prismatic-cell design reduces the number of units needed. The UL Solutions result concerns the battery’s performance in the reported indoor fire test.
Samsung SDI extends its CES award run
Samsung SDI has now received a CES Innovation Award for three consecutive years, starting with its first appearance at CES 2025. Its earlier recognition covered a different cell format and a battery safety technology. The SDI 25U-Power ultra-high-output cylindrical battery received a Best of Innovation Award, while its No Thermal Propagation technology received an Innovation Award.
A Samsung SDI spokesperson said the award recognised innovation in an AI-era power solution and pledged to keep leading the market with products combining the performance and safety customers demand, Financial News reported. The CES 2027 selection adds a prismatic UPS battery to the cylindrical battery and safety technology previously recognised by the awards programme.
