Feb 10 (Reuters) - Microsoft ( MSFT ) is exploring

using superconducting power lines in its data centers, which

could potentially accelerate its massive U.S. build-out of the

server warehouses by making them more energy-efficient, the

company said on Tuesday.

Big Tech's effort to swiftly build and electrify giant data

centers across ‌the U.S. to expand technologies like artificial

intelligence has been slowed by the country's aging power system

and constrained ​electricity supplies.

Microsoft ( MSFT ) said recent tests of high-temperature

superconductor cables have shown that the power ‍lines can

deliver the same amount of electricity as traditional ⁠cables

while taking up ⁠less space.

"The technology helps us scale power density without

expanding our physical footprint," Husam Alissa, who leads the

Systems ‌Technology Team at Microsoft's ( MSFT ) CO+I CTO Office. "It ​can

also help us reduce the size of power transmission

infrastructure and lower community impact."

High-temperature superconductor cables use a ceramic-like

material that transports electricity ⁠more efficiently than

conventional copper and aluminum ‍conductors, which ​are used

widely in power infrastructure.

Deploying the cables, which are not currently used in data

centers, could shorten the time it takes to power the large

server ‍warehouses.

Microsoft ( MSFT ) said the technology could allow it to increase

electrical density inside facilities without expanding

infrastructure like substations. The company, however, did not

disclose its investment in superconducting technology or when it

would be able to deploy them in its data centers.

U.S. government research shows the electricity use of data

centers may consume about 12 ​percent of ‍U.S. power supplies by

2028, a tripling from four years earlier, which would require

more infrastructure to generate and transport the electricity.

Single data center ​campuses being built today will require

more than one gigawatt of electricity at a single location,

enough to power about 750,000 homes.

The cable technology has been under development for

decades, but stymied by high costs and manufacturing

constraints.

Microsoft ( MSFT ) is investing in superconducting companies,

including Massachusetts-based cable manufacturer and cooling

system vendor, VEIR, which closed a $75 Series B funding round

this last year. VEIR, which ​recently completed a test of its

three megawatt cable to power a server rack in a simulated data

center, said the advanced cables can be more than 10 times

smaller and lighter than traditional cables, allowing ‍for a

smaller data center footprint.