Systems

How to Increase AIC Power in Arknights Endfield (Thermal Banks, Batteries)

How to raise AIC power past 200 in Arknights: Endfield, with fuel values, battery recipes, relay range, Wuling wiring and Backup Power.

By: K. Talos Updated: 2026-09-28 7 min read

The facts below were checked on 2026-09-28 against the sources listed at the end of this page. Game updates can change them, so check the in-game screen before you spend. If something no longer matches, tell us.

Each region's AIC grid starts at 200 power. To go higher you need a Thermal Bank: place it, connect it to the grid, and feed it Originium Ore or batteries. Each fuel adds a fixed amount while it burns, from 50 for ore to 3,200 for SC Wuling Battery, and extra banks add up. Since Sketches of Lost Heirlooms (1.3, June 2026) there's also Backup Power, which covers a shortage for a limited time.

Why is AIC power stuck at 200?

200 is the default capacity, and every region has its own grid. The wiki's AIC page says "Each region's PAC have its own power grid which provides power capacity for every facilities in that region." Wuling starts at 200 as well. GameWith: "Immediately after unlocking the industry, you only have 200 power and very few facilities, so it's recommended to bring items and facilities created in Valley IV."

Most facilities need power, and each draws a different amount. To raise capacity, the wiki says, "player must place down a Thermal Bank, connect it to the power grid, then supply them with the appropriate resource." Until you have one, GameWith's advice is to arrange your facilities "so your total power usage doesn't exceed 200." Usage and supply are shown on the Automation-Core details screen.

How do you unlock and build a Thermal Bank?

Research the Power I node in the AIC Plan. Which tier holds it depends on the source: Basic AIC I in the wiki (April 2026 edit), Basic AIC II in Game8, Pocket Tactics and GameWith. Basic AIC II opens with the Basic Expansion Core from Paving the Way (Chapter 1, Process II), so look for the node by name. Pocket Tactics says researching Power I also gives you one free Thermal Bank. The beginner guide shows where Paving the Way falls in the story.

Each further bank costs 10 Origocrust and 10 Amethyst Part. Origocrust is refined from Originium Ore. Amethyst Part starts as Amethyst Ore, goes through a Refining Unit as Amethyst Fiber, and is finished in a Fitting Unit. The wiki says a bank "must be connected to the power grid to work," and Game8 notes that "Additional Thermal Banks will increase your total Power Grid Output."

On feeding, Game8 recommends connecting banks "directly" to "a PAC Output Port or Depot Unloader that outputs your power source", and adds: "It's better to stash your batteries than to unload them directly to the Thermal Bank from a production line." You start on Originium Ore, but Game8 says to switch to batteries as soon as possible.

How much power does each fuel add?

Fuel	Power added	One unit burns for	Used per minute
Originium Ore	50	8 s	7.5
LC Valley Battery	220	40 s	1.5
SC Valley Battery	420	40 s	1.5
HC Valley Battery	1,100	40 s	1.5
LC Wuling Battery	1,600	40 s	1.5
SC Wuling Battery	3,200	40 s	1.5

The wiki and Game8 (September 2026) give the same power values and burn times; the per-minute column is from the wiki's Thermal Bank page. Multiplied out, one bank goes through 450 ore or 90 batteries an hour. Every battery grade burns at the same rate, so a better grade raises the ceiling without needing faster delivery. Two banks on SC Valley Battery, for example, put a region at 200 + 420 + 420 = 1,040.

What goes into each battery?

All five batteries come out of a Packaging Unit, one every 10 seconds per unit, according to the wiki's battery pages (edited in March 2026, SC Wuling in July). The LC Valley, HC Valley and LC Wuling pages describe it as a battery that "can be used to supply power, charge up facilities, or traded at various outposts."

Battery	Recipe for one	Outpost sale price (wiki)
LC Valley	5 Amethyst Part + 10 Originium Powder	16 Valley Stock Bill (Infra-Station)
SC Valley	10 Ferrium Part + 15 Originium Powder	30 Valley Stock Bill
HC Valley	10 Steel Part + 15 Dense Originium Powder	70 Valley Stock Bill
LC Wuling	5 Xiranite + 15 Dense Originium Powder	25 Wuling Stock Bill (Sky King Flats Construction Site)
SC Wuling	5 Xircon + 20 Dense Originium Powder	Not listed

The three higher grades share an extra branch. A Grinding Unit makes Dense Originium Powder from 2 Originium Powder and 1 Sandleaf Powder, and a Shredding Unit turns 1 Sandleaf into 3 Sandleaf Powder. So HC Valley, LC Wuling and SC Wuling lines all need Sandleaf. HC Valley's other input, Steel Part, is made in a Fitting Unit from Steel, which a Refining Unit makes from Dense Ferrium Powder. LC Wuling needs Xiranite, which comes from a Forge of the Sky.

What a whole line turns out depends on your layout. GameWith's own battery blueprints list power draws of 55 (LC Valley), 90 (SC Valley) and 135 (HC Valley). Those numbers belong to its layouts, not to the game.

How far can Relay Towers and Electric Pylons carry power?

Pylons and relays carry power from the PAC out to your facilities, and the PAC and Sub-PACs supply Electric Pylons automatically. They don't use up grid capacity. The wiki: "Unlike other facilities, these do not consume any power of the PAC." Game8 says the same.

Facility	Research node (wiki)	Cost	Cable length (wiki, Game8)
Electric Pylon	Electricity I	5 Originium Ore	30 m; also powers facilities wirelessly within its area
Relay Tower	Power Relay	20 Origocrust	80 m

The wiki puts both nodes in Basic AIC I; Game8 lists both under Basic II. To run a cable, go to a power source and choose Start Transmission. Game8 says the default starting points are "the Automation-Core, as well as powered Relay Towers." After the Pylon Relaying node, Electric Pylons act "as mini Relay Towers" and can start transmissions too.

The update notes for [Old Deep Water Dies, by Rising Tide It is Denied] (12 March 2026) raised the wire disconnection distance from 90 to 100 metres for Relay Towers and from 40 to 50 metres for Electric Pylons. The same notes say "the circuit connection distance remains unchanged". Gryphline doesn't explain further how the wire disconnection distance works, and the 80 m and 30 m cable lengths in the table above stay as they are. The update also keeps power running during cutscenes.

What's different about power in Wuling?

Xiranite Pylon and Xiranite Relay "are only placeable in Wuling region," per the wiki. GameWith says they "do not require manual wiring". The Xiranite Pylon is researched at Wuling AIC I - Wuling Power and costs 5 Xiranite.
Auto-connection range. The wiki's Xiranite Pylon page (April 2026) says that outside the Core AIC Area it links to the PAC and Xiranite Relays within 80 m, and to other Xiranite Pylons and power facilities within 30 m. Its note that pylons inside the core area only link to the PAC is out of date. Since Sketches of Lost Heirlooms (1.3), "The [Xiranite Pylons] and [Xiranite Relays] within the Core AIC Area can now be connected to outer Xiranite facilities."
Mining without power. The Hydro Mining Rig runs on Clean Water.
Moving batteries in. Regional Transfer, once unlocked, runs an hourly shipment from one region's Depot to another's.

How much power do common facilities use?

Facility	Power	Source
Portable Originium Rig	None	Game8
Electric Mining Rig	5	Game8
Electric Mining Rig Mk II	10	Game8
Hydro Mining Rig	None (Clean Water)	Game8
Refining Unit	5	Wiki
Fluid Pump	10	Game8
Fitting Unit	20	Wiki
Packaging Unit	20	Wiki
Grinding Unit	50	Wiki
Forge of the Sky	50	Wiki
Pylons, relays, Thermal Bank	None	Wiki power-facility page

Wiki figures are from each facility's page; Game8 figures from its all-facilities list. The wiki's main facility table has no power column.

What happens when you use more power than you have?

A GameWith page from January 2026 describes the rule: "When total power consumption exceeds the maximum supply, the system draws from stored energy. Once stored energy reaches 0, all facilities will shut down." It doesn't explain where that stored energy comes from.

Backup Power arrived with Sketches of Lost Heirlooms (1.3, 5 June 2026). According to the update notes, it kicks in by itself when a region runs short of power "when you're playing", and for a while every facility gets unlimited power. Once it runs dry it has to recharge over a cooldown. The DEV Comm before that update calls it a buffer "while adjusting your power layout", and says you can turn off auto-activation and switch it on by hand. Neither post says how long it lasts or how long the cooldown is. By Game8's figures it covers 30 minutes and takes 12 hours to recharge, counted from when it stops.

What should you check first when the grid stops working?

Bank built, capacity still 200. It isn't connected to the grid.
Connected, still 200. There's no fuel in it.
Capacity keeps dropping back. Fuel runs out between deliveries.
Usage above supply. Burn a higher grade, add a bank, or remove facilities until usage is under capacity. Compare both on the Automation-Core details screen.
Everything stopped at once. GameWith says a blackout may be the cause.

If power checks out and one line is still stuck, GameWith's order continues with Depot capacity and belt congestion. The AIC factory guide covers those steps.

What has changed about power since launch?

Official post	Game8 label	Power change
[Old Deep Water Dies, by Rising Tide It is Denied] DEV Comm, 2 Mar 2026 (preview)	—	Announced Relay Tower 90 to 100 m and Electric Pylon 40 to 50 m, worded as "connection range"; power to stay on during story dialogue
[Old Deep Water Dies, by Rising Tide It is Denied] Update Notes, 12 Mar 2026	1.1	As shipped: wire disconnection distance 90 to 100 m and 40 to 50 m, connection distance unchanged; power kept during cutscenes
[Sketches of Lost Heirlooms] DEV Comm, 23 May 2026 (preview)	—	Backup Power and the Wuling Xiranite connection change announced
[Sketches of Lost Heirlooms] Update Notes, 5 Jun 2026	1.3	Backup Power; Xiranite Pylons and Relays in the Core AIC Area can connect to outer Xiranite facilities

What's still unknown about AIC power

How many batteries a full production line makes per minute, or how many banks one line can keep running.
An official Backup Power duration or cooldown.
What "stored energy" is and how it refills.
Whether generation, usage and Backup Power carry on while you're logged out. The 1.3 notes only describe what happens "when you're playing".
The Xiranite recipe, which sources list with different ingredients.

Sources

Pages accessed 27 and 28 September 2026.