NTT and Docomo to pilot AI load-shifting to absorb more renewables

NTT Docomo and parent NTT have launched a joint demonstration that uses AI to shift computing loads between radio base stations and to manage distributed solar and battery storage, the companies said. Data Center Dynamics reported the plan on Oct. 21.

The setup pairs workload shifting between base stations with Docomo's energy management system for distributed energy resources. NTT will control the communications load at each station while Docomo manages the storage batteries, under plans calculated using AI. NTT is building a verification environment on open-source software that simulates a virtualized radio access network, then connects to Docomo's base stations for testing. The companies say conventional base stations ran communications and power equipment separately, making it hard to match communications work to renewable output or to coordinate during an outage. The report describes the trial as the first deployment of the technology at a base station. It also aims to keep services running during disasters and to provide demand response when supply and demand are tight.

For allocators underwriting data-center and telecom power, the test treats compute load as movable to follow generation. A dependable version would make a site's electricity draw partly adjustable, and that flexibility could be valued in interconnection and supply agreements, not only in network planning.

Completion is targeted for the end of December 2026, with evaluation to follow. The companies have floated linking the base-station technology to data centers and extending it to a wider range of energy sources.