KIOXIA Develops High-Capacity E1.L SSDs for Hyperscale Data Centres
KIOXIA Europe GmbH has introduced the LD4 Series, its first E1.L form factor solid-state drives (SSDs) built using BiCS FLASH generation 8 quad-level cell (QLC) flash memory. The drives are designed for hyperscale data centres and read-intensive storage applications, where operators are seeking to increase storage capacity within limited server space. The E1.L form factor is intended for high-density 1U server configurations.
The KIOXIA LD4 Series will be available in capacities of 15.36TB and 30.72TB. According to the company, its validated architecture can support configurations of up to 122.88TB. The drives support the NVMe 2.0e specification and the Open Compute Project (OCP) Datacenter NVMe SSD Specification v2.6. They feature a single-port design intended for hyperscale and data centre-class servers.
KIOXIA said the LD4 Series is currently being sampled with selected customers. The company plans to showcase the drives at the OCP Global Summit, scheduled to take place in San Jose, California, from 12 to 15 October 2026.
Paul Rowan, Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer at KIOXIA Europe GmbH, said data centre operators face increasing pressure to expand computing and storage capacity while managing constraints related to power, cooling and physical space. He said the LD4 Series combines the E1.L form factor with BiCS FLASH generation 8 QLC 3D flash memory to help operators increase storage density within existing infrastructure.
