Data centers are increasingly drawing large amounts of water, leading to scarcity worries.
Tech Giants Embrace Water-Saving Measures for Data Centers
In a bid to reduce their environmental footprint, tech companies are increasingly adopting innovative solutions to cut water consumption in their data centers. From Finland to Taiwan, leading tech firms are leveraging advanced cooling technologies and alternative water sources to conserve this precious resource.
Google, for instance, operates a data center in Hamina, Finland, that uses seawater for cooling. The water is returned to the sea at a temperature close to its original temperature, ensuring minimal impact on marine life. Similarly, Google's data centers in St. Ghislain (Belgium), Changhua County (Taiwan), and Eemshaven (Netherlands) rely on industrial water for cooling.
Looking ahead, the industry anticipates the emergence of new cooling alternatives as water shortages become more prevalent worldwide. One such solution is the use of water previously used by factories. Data centers near a sea or river can also draw the necessary water for cooling servers directly from these sources.
Major companies like Microsoft are pioneering zero-water cooling technologies. They are developing closed-loop, chip-level cooling systems that virtually eliminate the evaporative water loss associated with traditional open-loop cooling systems. These systems recirculate coolant without additional water, saving over 125 million liters per data center annually and enabling precise cooling for high-density AI workloads. Microsoft has committed to moving all new data center builds to zero-water designs starting August 2024.
Another approach is immersion and closed-loop cooling. Instead of open evaporative cooling towers that lose water through evaporation, companies are adopting closed-loop systems (akin to sealed radiators) and liquid immersion cooling. This reduces water consumption drastically while managing heat more efficiently.
To reduce pressure on local potable water supplies, some data centers use treated municipal wastewater, captured rainwater, or surface water such as canal water. This approach not only conserves drinking water but also eases permitting challenges in water-stressed regions and builds positive community relations.
Companies are also installing advanced water treatment and control systems to improve water recycling efficiency in cooling towers. For example, Veolia helped a data center reduce its water use for cooling by 50%, saving 12 million gallons annually by optimizing chemical treatments and remotely monitoring water quality.
As data centers consume vast amounts of water, especially in drought-prone regions like Texas, there are public appeals for water conservation by residents to offset increased demand. This underscores the urgency of reducing water use in data center cooling.
However, it's not just about saving water. Authorities must ensure that the water discharged into the environment from data centers does not contain problematic compounds and that its temperature does not affect the functioning of ecosystems.
In summary, tech giants are addressing water consumption by transitioning to zero-water and closed-loop cooling technologies, adopting alternative water sources, and optimizing water reuse through advanced treatment and monitoring systems. These collective efforts enable sustainable scaling of data center infrastructure amid growing AI and cloud computing demands.
- Technology companies, such as Google and Microsoft, are implementing cutting-edge cooling technologies and alternative water sources in their data centers to decrease water consumption, thereby reducing their environmental impact.
- As water shortages become increasingly common, the tech industry predicts the emergence of novel cooling alternatives, including reusing water previously used by factories and drawing water directly from nearby rivers or seas for cooling servers.
- Advancements in technology, like zero-water cooling systems and immersion cooling, are being developed to reduce water consumption drastically while improving heat management in data centers.
- In an effort to conserve resources and build positive community relationships, some data centers are using treated municipal wastewater, captured rainwater, or surface water such as canal water for cooling purposes, reducing the demand for drinking water and easing water-stressed regions' permitting challenges.
