[News] Huawei Begins Trials of New Magnetoelectric Storage, Targets Lower-Cost Warm Data Solutions

Huawei reportedly begins commercial trials of its new data storage system at its Yunshangtun site in Gui’an, Guizhou Province, according to Yicai and IThome. The trials mark its transition from laboratory validation to testing in real-world customer environments. As Yicai reports, the system features Huawei’s self-developed magnetoelectric disk (MED), which uses electric fields to control magnetism rather than the current-generated magnetic fields used in conventional hard disk drives (HDDs). The technology aims to combine storage costs comparable to magnetic tape with data retrieval capabilities approaching those of HDDs.

The trial will target large-scale warm and cold data storage applications, including large language model datasets, media archiving, backup and disaster recovery, and scientific research data, the report adds.

Growing Demand for Warm and Cold Data Reshapes Storage Needs

As Yicai notes, demand for warm data storage is growing as AI data centers expand. Warm data refers to information accessed less frequently but still needed periodically, such as historical AI training datasets. Unlike hot data, which requires fast access for training and inference, warm data does not require immediate retrieval but must remain accessible when needed. Cold data, meanwhile, is rarely accessed and primarily retained for long-term archiving and backup.

Existing storage technologies face trade-offs in meeting these needs. Magnetic tape offers low long-term storage costs and minimal power consumption when offline, but retrieving large volumes of data can take hours. HDDs provide faster access but incur power, cooling, and maintenance costs at scale. As capacities exceed 30TB, manufacturers also face production and reliability challenges, making it difficult to balance cost, capacity, energy efficiency, and retrieval speed.

Huawei’s magnetoelectric storage technology aims to address these trade-offs. According to Cailian Press, citing Changjiang Securities, the technology targets warm and cold data applications. The report also notes that Huawei’s solution involves multiple components, including magnetic tape and NAND storage.

Meanwhile, growing demand is also driving investment across the storage industry. According to Yicai, Fujifilm and Sony are among the major magnetic tape suppliers in the international market. Fujifilm plans to invest approximately JPY 10 billion between fiscal 2026 and 2028 to expand its data storage tape production capacity. Looking ahead, Cailian Press, citing Changjiang Securities, reports that the market for warm and cold magnetic data storage is expected to exceed US$20 billion by 2030.

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(Photo credit: Huawei)