Source: The post Advanced Cooling Methods Cut Data Centre Emissions and Consumption has been created, based on the article “How the technology industry is trying to meet its climate goals” published in “The Hindu” on 2 June 2025. Advanced Cooling Methods Cut Data Centre Emissions and Consumption.
UPSC Syllabus Topic: GS Paper3- environmental pollution and degradation. And Awareness in the fields of IT, Space, Computers, robotics, nano-technology, bio-technology
Context: The ICT industry must urgently reduce emissions and energy use to meet global climate goals. A new Nature study by Microsoft and WSP Global shows that advanced cooling methods—cold plates and immersion cooling—can significantly reduce emissions, energy consumption, and water use compared to traditional air-based cooling.
The Challenge of Heat in Data Centres
- How Heat Affects Electronics: Microchips generate intense heat, like a crowded kitchen. Tighter packing and heavier workloads make chips hotter. Without cooling, systems can fail quickly due to overheating.
- Why Cooling Matters: Heat slows electronic signals, causing malfunctions. Effective cooling ensures smooth performance, longer lifespan, and protects devices from heat damage—similar to how hydration sustains athletes.
- Escalating Demands: Smaller and faster chips drive demand for advanced cooling. As cloud computing grows, data centres must scale capacity while improving heat mitigation.
The Push for Greener Cooling Solutions
- Climate Targets for ICT: To limit global warming, the ICT sector must cut emissions by 42% from 2015 levels by 2030. Greener cooling designs are critical to achieve this.
- Need for Systemic Change: Isolated energy fixes are not enough. If cooling systems run on fossil fuels or use harmful materials, they risk shifting rather than reducing emissions.
- Performance of Modern Chips: Improved chip efficiency is not sufficient. Without better cooling, performance gains are undermined by heat build-up.
Liquid Cooling Technologies Explained
- Cold Plates: Cold plates sit directly on hot chips. Coolant in microchannels absorbs heat and carries it away. This method is 50–80% more effective than traditional fans.
- Immersion Cooling: Immersion systems submerge hardware in special fluids. In one-phase systems, the fluid stays liquid. In two-phase cooling, it vaporizes, condenses, and recirculates. Both operate silently and reduce corrosion.
- Benefits and Barriers: These methods improve efficiency and reliability while reducing carbon footprint. However, design complexity and fluid regulations hinder faster adoption.
Evaluating Environmental Trade-Offs
- Life Cycle Assessment Approach: The study evaluated cold plate, immersion, and air cooling from production to disposal. Cold plate and immersion cooling showed superior performance across emissions, energy, and water use.
- Limitations of Green Claims: Sustainable cooling must consider full impact. If powered by coal or using toxic fluids, benefits diminish.
- Systemic Thinking Over Isolated Fixes: Technology must pair with clean energy sources. Without this, environmental benefits are incomplete.
Twin Strategies for Sustainable Cooling
- Tech Upgrades and Renewable Energy: Cold plates and immersion cooling cut emissions by 15–21%, energy by 15–20%, and water use by 31–52%. These gains are higher than with air cooling.
- Renewable Energy’s Amplified Impact: Switching to clean power cuts emissions by 85–90% and water demand by up to 85%, regardless of cooling method.
- Holistic Solutions for ICT’s Future: The path to climate goals requires combining efficient cooling with renewable energy. Both are essential for a truly green ICT sector.
Question for practice:
Discuss how advanced cooling technologies can help reduce the environmental impact of data centres.
