Series: Mining & Materials • Part 11 of 14
Products: From Beams to Supercomputers
Here’s the payoff. We turn sorted earth (Part 2), clean energy (Part 3), and smokeless smelters (Parts 4–6) into objects people touch — rails, bridges, trackers, trucks — and into objects that think — racks and supercomputers. One recipe book, many chapters.
Today’s mission
Map raw → refined → product across four families: Build • Move • Gather • Compute.
Publish pre‑calculated BOMs, footprints, and power.
Show how a supercomputer sits calmly on the same microgrid as beams and glass.
Four product families (one recipe book)
Build — beams, rails, frames, panels
- H‑beams, plate, hollow sections, rails (Part 5)
- Solar glass & façade panels (Part 9)
- Precast blocks & LC³ binders (Part 9)
Move — trucks, rail, ropeways
- 200‑t mega vans with 3–5 MWh packs (Part 7)
- Electric rail spurs, covered conveyors (Part 8)
- Ropeways for mountains (Part 8)
Gather — PV, storage, power electronics
- PV modules (Part 3), trackers & mounts
- BESS pods, transformers, switchgear
- District heat from process recovery
Compute — racks, fabrics, cooling
- Liquid‑cooled racks (80–120 kW each typical planning)
- Rear‑door HEX / cold plates / immersion options
- 380–800 V DC bus, or AC ring with rectifiers
Quick BOMs (indicative, pre‑calculated)
1 km of double‑track rail (build)
| Item | Qty | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Rails (60 kg/m) | ~120 t | Two rails × 1,000 m |
| Sleepers + fasteners | ~160–220 t | Concrete/steel mix |
| Copper signaling cable | ~0.6–1.2 t | Shielded pairs |
| Power (electrified) | as designed | MV overhead or third rail |
Mass varies with grade/ballast. We standardize lengths for shipping (Part 8).
1 MWp ground PV with trackers (gather)
| Item | Qty | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Modules | ~1,800–2,200 panels | 450–550 W class |
| Module mass | ~45–60 t | Glass+frame (Part 9) |
| Steel/alum. mounts | ~60–100 t | Galv. steel + Al rails |
| Copper | ~1.2–2.0 t | Strings + combiner to inverter |
| Inverters/transformer | ~1 set | 1–1.5 MVA |
Area: ~1.6–2.2 ha (ground mount). Numbers keep with earlier posts.
200‑t Mega Van (move)
| Subsystem | Spec | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Main battery | ~3–5 MWh | Pack mass ~21–36 t |
| Flywheel pod | 30–50 kWh • 2–5 MW | Peak buffering |
| Motors | 4 in‑wheel | Vector control |
| Regen | ~70% downhill | Protects brakes |
Charging: 1.5–2.5 MW pads; optional 2–3 MW uphill trolley (Part 7).
Compute rack (80 kW, liquid‑cooled)
| Item | Qty / Mass | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Frame (Al + steel) | ~300–500 kg | Extrusions + sheet |
| Copper (bus + cables) | ~40–80 kg | Depends on topology |
| Cold plates/HEX | ~60–120 kg | Al/Cu mix |
| IT electronics | ~400–800 kg | Boards, drives, optics |
| Max heat to loop | ~80 kW | 45–60 °C outlet typical |
Racks can run higher than 80 kW; we pick plan values for calm microgrids.
Product kits (ready‑to‑ship compositions)
Bridge‑in‑a‑Box (200 m span)
| Component | Spec | Pods needed |
|---|---|---|
| Girders & H‑beams | ~1,800–2,400 t steel | LP(section mill), PP‑20 |
| Deck panels | precast LC³ | LP(precast), HP‑20 |
| Railings & bolts | aluminum + steel | LP(fab) |
| Lighting & sensors | low‑voltage | CP (controls) |
Ships in standard lengths; site cranes + torque checklist; zero smoke.
Solar Farm 100 MWp (single‑axis)
| Component | Qty | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| PV modules | ~180–220k | 500–550 W class |
| Mount steel/Al | ~6–10 kt | Galv. sections + Al rails |
| Inverters/transformers | ~70–100 MVA | Central/string mix |
| Site BESS | ~100–200 MWh | Grid smoothing |
| Area | ~1.8–2.4 km² | Layout dependent |
Built by pods from Parts 3, 5, 9, and 10.
Rail Spur 50 km (bulk corridor)
| Item | Qty | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Rail steel | ~6,000 t | 60 kg/m class |
| Sleepers/ballast | ~8–11 kt | Civil by terrain |
| Electrification | as designed | MV line + substations |
Pairs with ropeways/conveyors for mountains (Part 8).
Edge Supercomputer 20 MW (compute)
| Component | Spec | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Racks | ~250 @ 80 kW | Liquid‑cooled |
| Power path | 380–800 V DC or AC→DC | Ring topology |
| Cooling | ~0.4–0.8 MW pumps | ~2–4% of IT load |
| Daily energy | ~480 MWh | 20 MW × 24 h |
| PV min | ~103 MWp | 20×5.14 rule |
| Storage (12 h) | ~240 MWh | Site battery |
Waste heat goes to district loop (Part 9), keeping neighbors toasty.
Supercomputer campus (calm, hot, helpful)
Architecture
- Power: PV + BESS + MV ring; optional DC bus to PDUs.
- Cooling: cold plates + rear‑door HEX; 45–60 °C water to heat network.
- PUE target: ~1.05–1.12 (liquid done right).
- Fabric: optical spine; copper only where short.
Materials snapshot (20 MW build)
| Material | Approx. Mass | Where it lives |
|---|---|---|
| Aluminum | ~30–60 t | Racks, cold plates, frames |
| Steel | ~50–100 t | Frames, cable trays, shells |
| Copper | ~15–35 t | Busbars, cables, motors |
| Glass & panels | ~10–20 t | Doors, displays, optics |
The atoms are familiar — we already made them clean in Parts 5–9.
Why DC distribution?
Fewer conversions, easier storage coupling, and friendly to PV/BESS. AC works too — we pick what keeps losses down and maintenance boring.
Shipping & staging (how the products travel)
TEU counts (typical)
| Product kit | TEU | Heaviest piece |
|---|---|---|
| Bridge‑in‑a‑Box | ~120–180 | ~40 t girder |
| Solar Farm 100 MWp | ~1,000–1,600 | Transformer 40–80 t (OD) |
| Rail Spur 50 km | ~600–900 | Rail bundles ~25–30 t |
| Supercomputer 20 MW | ~120–220 | Chiller/HEX skid 15–25 t |
OD = over‑dimensional; those go on modular trailers, not boxes.
Staging choreography
- Products arrive as pods & pallets with barcoded kitting.
- On‑site, the same MEC ports (Part 10) feed fabrication tents and finishing lines.
- Commission with a ballet, not a scramble: scan → set → plug → test.
Tap‑to‑open Q&A
“Isn’t a supercomputer too ‘delicate’ for an industrial campus?”
It loves it here. The compute hall wants constant clean power and quiet water loops — exactly what our PV/BESS pods and heat pods provide. Waste heat is a feature, not a bug.
“What changes when products evolve?”
The line pod. Beams stay beams; racks stay racks. We swap casters/laminators/ER stacks or compute sleds without rewriting the campus.
“Where do the chips come from?”
From whichever foundry respects the planet and our standards. Our job here is the power, cooling, metals, glass, and assembly — we make a beautiful, efficient home for silicon.
Up next — Circular Industry: Waste = Input (Part 12 of 14). We’ll close every loop: scrap to melt, heat to neighbors, water to water — nothing wasted, everything working.