Kioxia has introduced its LD4 Series of solid-state drives (SSDs), combining the E1.L form factor with eighth-generation BiCS FLASH QLC NAND memory. Designed for high-density 1U servers, the drives offer capacities of 15.36 TB and 30.72 TB, with an architecture validated to support up to 122.88 TB. For eeNews Europe readers working on data centre hardware and storage systems, the E1.L QLC SSD addresses the growing need to accommodate more data within limited server space. The development is particularly relevant to hyperscale infrastructure supporting AI workloads and read-intensive applications. E1.L form factor supports higher storage density The KIOXIA LD4 Series is the company’s first SSD family to combine the E1.L form factor with its eighth-generation BiCS FLASH QLC technology. Quad-level cell (QLC) NAND stores four bits per memory cell, allowing manufacturers to increase storage capacity compared with lower-density NAND technologies. The trade-off is generally lower write endurance, making QLC particularly suitable for applications where read operations dominate. Kioxia is positioning the LD4 Series for hyperscale data centres, where increasing storage requirements must be balanced against server space and infrastructure costs. The drives are initially available in 15.36 TB and 30.72 TB capacities. Kioxia has also validated an architecture capable of supporting up to 122.88 TB, although it has not announced a commercial drive at that capacity. PCIe 5.0 and NVMe 2.0e connectivity The LD4 Series supports PCIe 5.0 connectivity through a four-lane interface, with transfer rates of up to 16 GT/s per lane, according to Kioxia. The drives comply with the NVMe 2.0e specification and support the Open Compute Project (OCP) Datacenter NVMe SSD Specification v2.6. The single-port architecture is intended for hyperscale and data centre-class servers, providing a standardised interface for integration into high-density storage systems. Sampling begins for hyperscale customers The E1.L QLC SSD family is currently sampling to selected customers, with the initial samples intended for functional evaluation. Kioxia notes that specifications may change before mass production. The company showcased the LD4 Series at OCP Global Summit 2026, held from 12 to 15 October in San Jose, California. The post Kioxia brings E1.L QLC SSDs to hyperscale data centres appeared first on eeNews Europe .