The Pathway to Net Zero Water Data Centres

One of the constrains Data Center operations face is efficient cooling as water is increasingly becoming an issue as well as local regulators demanding more sustainable solutions in particular when dealing with the discharge of waste water. H2ovortex is specialized in optimizing cooling tower operations by reducing water consumption by 50 per cent, reducing energy consumption by up to 8 per cent and totally eliminating all chemical usage. We are currently servicing 85 chemical free cooling towers of which 5 are Data Centers located in the Netherlands. Given the fact that we totally eliminate all chemical usage we are able to substantially reduce the CO2 footprint.

Innovation in data center cooling Data center cooling systems that operate without water consumption need not suffer on energy efficiency. Harnessing the natural phenomenon of the thermosyphon, Munters latest cooling solution, SyCool, requires no pumps to circulate the heat rejection fluid, while achieving annual energy efficiency metrics that approach or exceed high efficiency magnetic-bearing chiller plants. Tune in to this presentation to learn about Munters latest innovation in data center cooling and the benefits it offers compared to other dry cooling solutions.

This presentation will discuss how warm fluid cooling and immersion cooling will enable future-proof data centers. This will not only remove the need for water and ease site selection anywhere on the globe but, how this warm-fluid could be leveraged to monetise a large percentage of the energy that today is just thrown away. Future DC’s will select sites based on symbiosis with their neighbours to monetise energy.

The global data center community is expecting massive growth in the upcoming years. Projections show 5.3 billion people will have access to the internet and approximately 29.3 billion devices will be connected with access speeds increasing to an average of 110Mbps by 2023. Energy consumption receives the bulk of attention with some experts projecting data center energy consumption may quadruple in the next eight years while other experts foresee data centers hitting a plateau. Energy consumption is just one part of the environmental envelope. Another aspect now starting to gain more media attention is water consumption. Availability and overall quality of water is global concern. Water demand is projected to increase 55% by 2050 with contributing usage from thermal power generation, domestic usage, manufacturing, and the global data center industry. There have been some gains in transparency of data center water consumption, but recent media articles have recently coined water consumption as data centers dirty little secret. As data centers transition to carbon neutral or zero carbon emissions by 2030 the pathway to net zero water in data centers will allow the global data center industry to meet the growing demands without causing further harm to our planet. The quest to go green has never been greater!

Getting to net-zero water should be a top priority for data centre owners. Just one 15-megawatt Data Centre uses roughly as much water as three average hospital buildings, according to the Wall Street Journal. As more pressure is put on data centre operators to reduce their water usage, this session will discuss what actions they can be taking to reach net-zero water.