CoolIT Systems and Switch Datacenters to launch sustainable data centres

Author: Isha Jain

CoolIT Systems and Switch Datacenters have unveiled a strategic partnership that will benefit an industry seeking to improve the sustainability of data centres.

Following the recent release of the World Economic Forum’s Top 10 Emerging Technologies, featuring ‘sustainable computing’ as the ninth ranked emerging technology, the collaboration facilitates data centre space and the necessary technology to significantly curtail energy and water consumption inherent in modern data centres.

With a history spanning more than a decade, Switch Datacenters has demonstrated a commitment to environmental responsibility and sustainability. Its latest 45MW AMS6 data centre, near the Schiphol airport area, features an HPC/AI-ready design that uses data centre heat to warm adjacent greenhouses. Currently under development, its AMS5s is designed to make a significant contribution to the Amsterdam municipal heat grid with green, CO2-neutral heat.

For both data centres, there’s a marked preference for liquid cooling, because it allows heat extraction at temperatures higher than traditional air cooling, offering enhanced economic value.

CoolIT Systems is the provider of efficient Direct Liquid Cooling (DLC) and Rear Door Heat Exchangers (RDHx) that enable heat reuse and help customers meet key ESG targets. Its DLC technology is featured as a factory-installed, warranty approved feature from most major servers OEMs.

“CoolIT’s DLC and RDHx technologies have been instrumental in various data centre heat reuse projects for years, with customers reporting at minimum a savings of 10% on energy bills (OPEX), more than 50% on CAPEX spends, and examples of PUE lowered from 1.30 to 1.02,” expresses Peggy Burroughs, Director of CoolIT Next. “Our collaborations with most major server OEMs have cultivated an expansive ecosystem for clients aspiring to achieve both business and ESG goals.”

“CoolIT is the right company to help make our vision a reality at an industrial scale. Both CoolIT and Switch Datacenters have shared the same passion for sustainable innovation for years and truly want to elevate the industry’s adoption of liquid cooling. We believe liquid cooling will be the game-changer in the next wave of sustainable data centre designs, and CoolIT is one of the very few companies that can lead this upcoming demand, thanks to their long history of innovation, reliability, breadth of portfolio, and capabilities to scale with their numerous IT partners worldwide,” says Gregor Snip, CEO of Switch Datacenters.

Data centres are projected to account for 8% of the global electricity consumption by 2030. Technologies such as DLC can significantly reduce data centre energy consumption by 25 – 40% and deliver water savings of 70 – 97%, depending on local climate and specific implementations.