Startup offers test drive for liquid cooling of datacenters

Do you want to test a liquid cooling system that acts directly on chips for datacenters and edge devices? A test drive program offered by Accelsius, formed last year from Nokia Bell Labs, can help.

NeuCool Kickstart offers datacenter operators a way to learn more about a possible transition to liquid cooling solutions which, according to Accelsius, allow for higher server density per rack and higher computing performance, as well as providing better sustainability results by reducing electricity and water consumption. Accelsius is offering operators a customized NeuCool system rack for testing and evaluation in their own facilities as part of the test drive program.

With NeuCool Kickstart, datacenter operators will have the opportunity to evaluate a hybrid operating environment that could in the future lead to a complete transition from traditional air cooling systems to liquid cooling systems. Quality, reliability, and maintenance issues will be analyzed.

According to Accelsius, the NeuCool platform’s two-phase approach that acts directly on the chips offers better levels of thermal efficiency and reliability. The innovative two-phase water-free coolant circulation process enables energy-efficient heat transfer without the risk of leaks. In addition, it can reduce 50% of datacenters’ annual energy costs, according to the startup’s figures.

In addition to the direct system used by Accelsius, there are other liquid cooling methods on the market, such as immersion and rear heat exchange. In the case of systems that act directly on the chip, there is the single-phase variety, in which the refrigerant always remains liquid, and the two-phase variety in which the liquid evaporates to cool, the latter being adopted by Accelsius. In the case of Accelsius’ technology, the liquid is channeled to a cooling plate next to the chip. After absorbing the heat, the liquid evaporates and the vapor returns to a condenser, where it is cooled again to return to its liquid state.

Participants in the NeuCool Kickstart program will work closely with Accelsius field engineers and thermal scientists to deploy and commission the system. Training and support will be provided throughout the test drive. Accelsius will regularly seek feedback on the performance of the NeuCool system and inform about future updates and improvements to the cooling technology.

Interested parties should send an e-mail to Accelsius for more details.

Advantages of liquid cooling directly on the chip

According to Accelsius, one of the main advantages of direct liquid cooling on the chip is scalability. It is a flexible and efficient solution that enables rack densification and significantly reduces the physical space requirements for IT hardware. It can be adapted to various infrastructure formats more easily than installations with immersion and single-phase water-cooled systems.

Another advantage is that liquid cooling eliminates the limitations imposed by air solutions, such as airflow restrictions and access points. This makes it possible to have higher densities of equipment, optimize the positioning of servers and maximize the use of available space, generating cost savings and efficiency gains.

In terms of energy efficiency, liquid cooling significantly reduces the energy consumption associated with cooling infrastructure, such as fans and air conditioning systems. This translates into greater power usage effectiveness (PUE) and overall energy cost savings, contributing to more sustainable datacenters.

Liquid cooling market

Revenues generated by liquid cooling systems are expected to reach US$2 billion by 2027, according to a forecast by Dell’Oro Group, driven mainly by thirsty Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) workloads.

“One of the key enablers for deploying AI infrastructures is liquid cooling. As we have seen in the high-performance computing industry, air cooling cannot support the thermal management requirements of accelerated servers, bearing in mind cost, performance, and sustainability. This led to a revision of our forecast for liquid cooling systems. We have also re-evaluated the mix, moving closer to direct liquid cooling,” says Lucas Beran, research director at Dell’Oro Group.

According to the executive, some data center installations are being modernized with liquid cooling systems assisted by closed air circuits. This infrastructure can be a version of RDHx rear-door heat exchange systems or direct on-chip cooling, which uses liquid to capture the heat generated inside racks or servers and directs it to a hot aisle. This design makes it possible to take advantage of some benefits of liquid cooling without significant investment in redesigning the installations. However, Beran points out that in order to achieve the desired efficiency at scale, facilities specially built for liquid cooling will be needed.