This Nvidia partner says it can cut data center energy use by 50% as AI boom strains power grid

The factitious intelligence increase is ramping up demand for extra highly effective processors in addition to the vitality wanted to maintain information facilities cool.

That is a chance for information heart firm Sustainable Steel Cloud, which operates “sustainable AI factories” made up of its HyperCubes in Singapore and Australia.

The HyperCubes include servers fitted with Nvidia processors that are submerged in an artificial oil referred to as polyalphaolefin that attracts warmth away extra effectively than air. The corporate stated its platform reduces vitality consumption by as much as 50%, as in comparison with conventional air cooling know-how usually utilized in information facilities.

“It allows excessive density internet hosting for GPUs. It allows the kind of internet hosting that we have to see for platforms like [Nvidia’s] Grace Blackwell,” stated Tim Rosenfield, co-founder and co-CEO of Sustainable Steel Cloud, referring to the brand new technology of AI graphics processors Nvidia introduced in March.

The Singapore-based agency additionally stated its immersion cooling know-how is 28% cheaper to put in than different liquid-based options. The HyperCubes are designed to enter any information heart and might be deployed in unused areas inside current information facilities.

“Our answer being containerized means we are able to go anyplace in a short time. And we are able to open up new availability zones in response to demand from prospects …,” stated Rosenfield.

He stated SMC is increasing into different markets like Thailand and India.

The agency already counts Nvidia and Deloitte amongst its main enterprise companions. SMC is a most popular cloud companion of Nvidia for compute and AI and presents GPU clusters designed by the chip big. In July, SMC introduced a partnership with Deloitte through which it’s going to present entry to Nvidia’s GPU computing infrastructure for the consultancy’s purchasers to construct AI functions.

Governments and companies have rushed to seize the transformative influence of AI and information heart demand has boomed because of this. 

Nations like Singapore, the place SMC is headquartered, are additionally trying to mitigate the hefty vitality consumption by pushing for “inexperienced” information facilities to assist its AI ambitions the place the nation has dedicated greater than 500 million Singapore {dollars} ($379.7 million).

Sustainable Steel Cloud has obtained funding from Singapore state investor Temasek-backed ST Telemedia World Knowledge Centres, considered one of Asia’s largest information heart operators.

SMC is presently elevating $400 million in fairness and $550 million in debt, with the funds going towards its information heart enlargement past Singapore, Bloomberg reported, citing folks accustomed to the matter.

Expertise corporations are more and more trying into liquid cooling for its information facilities as growing efficiency wants additionally ramp up overheating dangers.

Historically, information facilities have giant aisles to permit cooled air to flow into as overheating can result in tools failure and downtime. In idea, liquid cooling ought to allow these amenities to pack extra servers into their current footprint.

Giordano Albertazzi, CEO of digital infrastructure supplier Vertiv, advised CNBC in June that liquid-cooling adoption might speed up in 2024. Vertiv’s thermal administration choices embody hybrid air- and liquid-cooling, in addition to absolutely liquid-cooled information facilities.

Throughout Computex Taipei in June, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang championed the advantages of Supermicro’s direct liquid-cooling know-how, which he stated saves vitality and lowers prices in AI information facilities. 

Supermicro CEO Charles Liang advised CNBC in June that liquid cooling has higher energy effectivity main to raised efficiency, much less air pollution and decrease vitality prices.

Regardless of the fanfare, challenges stay in deploying liquid cooling, in response to SMC’s Rosenfield. 

“Most information facilities usually are not prepared for liquid of any kind, whether or not it’s immersion or direct chip cooling. The market is determining one of the simplest ways to make use of this and I believe there will be a number of methods,” stated Rosenfield. 

Vertiv’s Albertazzi stated, “There may be nonetheless quite a lot of air cooling that also occurs within the information heart and can proceed to occur even within the full high-density AI information heart.”