Airsys urges UK MPs to focus on existing data centres
Author: Joe Peck
Airsys, a provider of data centre cooling systems, has called on MPs to consider upgrading existing data centre sites as part of the UK’s approach to expanding AI capacity.
The cooling technology company will make the case for improving existing data centre assets in response to an inquiry launched by the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for Data Centres.
Matthew Thompson, UK Managing Director at Airsys, says, “AI Growth Zones are clearly part of the mix, but these will take time to deliver. UK businesses need access to AI now, and better utilisation of existing sites has to be part of the answer.”
The inquiry follows the publication of the APPG Insights report in May, which highlighted industry concerns around energy supply and grid access, energy costs, water use, planning, and sustainability.
Matthew continues, “While government policy has emphasised construction of new data centres and AI Growth Zones, these will take years to come on stream. Planning and local community agreement is one hurdle, but getting sufficient power onto these sites is the biggest bottleneck for the industry.
“The government policy is also heavily focused on regional developments, which has raised concerns amongst some operators about latency issues as inference becomes more important.
“In the meantime, businesses need compute capacity now in strategic locations, that don’t compromise on latency.”
Airsys is proposing that retrofitting existing sites and developing new capacity on brownfield sites should form part of the UK’s data centre and AI infrastructure agenda.
Retrofitting could increase compute capacity
Matthew notes, “The Government has correctly identified the UK’s massive potential for economic growth through data centres and AI. But, focusing purely on longer-term projects could mean more immediate opportunities to boost our AI capacity are lost.”
Airsys argues that retrofitting legacy sites with liquid cooling could improve the use of available power by reducing cooling requirements and allowing more power to be allocated to computing.
Data centre operators commonly use power usage effectiveness (PUE) to measure energy efficiency. Airsys has proposed two additional metrics – power compute effectiveness (PCE) and return on invested power (ROIP) – to assess the utilisation of data centre power and identify underused capacity.
The company says deploying liquid cooling at existing sites, alongside developing capacity closer to users, could increase compute density and utilisation whilst reducing energy and water consumption.
It also argues that a focus on longer-term regional AI Growth Zones, combined with fragmented local planning and policy, could make it more difficult to improve existing sites.
Airsys will submit formal evidence to the inquiry, focusing on policies for edge environments and retrofitting alongside larger-scale data centre developments.
Matthew concludes, “Clear, unified direction from central government and regulators is urgently required to ensure UK businesses get access to the capacity they need, where they need it.
“We want to ensure the Government, legislators, and regulators are aware of all the tools available to ensure the country is able to fully realise the benefit of all its AI and data centre infrastructure.”
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