{"id":15686,"date":"2024-09-17T12:00:05","date_gmt":"2024-09-17T12:00:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/TheNextWeb=1410328"},"modified":"2024-09-17T12:00:05","modified_gmt":"2024-09-17T12:00:05","slug":"startups-race-to-curb-data-centre-energy-use-amid-ai-boom","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.londonchiropracter.com\/?p=15686","title":{"rendered":"Startups race to curb data centre energy use amid AI boom"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Data centres gobble up roughly 2% of global electricity, which <\/span>translates<\/span><\/a> to around 1% of energy-related greenhouse gas emissions.  <\/span><\/p>\n

Streaming Netflix, storing stuff in the cloud, and meeting up on Zoom are just some of the online activities fuelling machines\u2019 appetite for energy. But perhaps the biggest culprit of all is artificial intelligence<\/a>. <\/span><\/p>\n

AI models require immense amounts of computational power to train and run, particularly for machine learning and deep learning tasks. Consequently, the International Energy Agency (IEA) predicts energy use from data centres will <\/span>double<\/span><\/a> by 2026.  <\/span><\/p>\n

Either way you slice it, data centre energy use is a looming climate problem. So what can we do about it? <\/span><\/p>\n

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Other than pressing pause on digitalisation, there are two key solutions. The first is powering data centres with renewable energy. Tech giants have made lofty claims about cutting emissions from their data centres, but big question marks remain. More on that later.  <\/span><\/p>\n

The second, and something that a growing number of startups are working on, is extracting the most value from every kilowatt \u2014 aka energy efficiency.<\/span><\/p>\n

Immersion cooling<\/b><\/h2>\n

Big tech companies like Nvidia are investing in more <\/span>energy-efficient hardware<\/span><\/a>, such as specialised AI chips designed to reduce power consumption for specific tasks. But, to really tackle data centres\u2019 energy use you have to look at cooling.<\/span><\/p>\n

Cooling down servers alone accounts for around 40% of data centre energy use. Startups like Netherlands-based <\/span>Asperitas<\/span><\/a>, Spain\u2019s <\/span>Submer<\/span><\/a> and UK-based <\/span>Iceotope<\/span><\/a> believe they have an answer \u2014 throw the servers in water.  <\/span><\/p>\n

Well, it\u2019s not <\/span>technically<\/span><\/i> water at all, but a non-conductive, dielectric liquid that absorbs the heat from the servers much better than air. The heat is then transferred from the liquid to a cooling system. This method keeps the servers cool without needing fans or air conditioners. <\/span><\/p>\n

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A technician lifts a server out of Submer\u2019s immersion cooling tanks. Credit: Submer<\/figcaption>