UIUC 3D printed copper plates could cut data center cooling
Researchers at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign have 3-D-printed special copper cooling plates that could make data centers way more energy efficient.
Right now, about 30% of a data center's massive electricity bill goes just to keeping things cool, but these new plates could cut that down to barely over 1%.
That's a huge deal for all the AI and cloud services we rely on.
Algorithmic copper plates cut pressure drop
The secret is in their clever design: using math algorithms and advanced manufacturing, the team made pure-copper plates with complex shapes that could boost cooling by up to 32%.
They also make it easier to pump coolant around, reducing pressure drop by as much as 68%, which lowers the energy needed to pump coolant.
If used widely, a big data center could drop its cooling power needs from 550 MW to just 11 MW, almost reaching perfect efficiency.
While it's not everywhere yet, this tech is a promising step toward greener internet and AI.