Nandini Roy Choudhury, writer
Brief news
- Big IT companies are exploring nuclear power, liquid cooling, and quantum computing to enhance energy efficiency in data centers amid rising electricity demand due to generative AI growth.
- Critics emphasize the hidden environmental costs of AI and urge tech giants to reconsider their rapid expansion strategies.
- Major firms like Microsoft and Google are investing in nuclear energy and liquid cooling solutions to support their AI operations and improve sustainability.
Detailed news
Big IT companies are pondering the most effective ways to fuel the revolution in artificial intelligence as a result of the massive increase in the number of data centers across the world, which shows no indications of slowing down.
Some of the possibilities that are being considered include switching to nuclear power, using liquid cooling for data centers, and using quantum computing.
Critics, however, have argued that as the rate of efficiency improvements in electricity consumption decreases, tech titans should acknowledge the expense of the generative AI boom throughout the entire supply chain and abandon the “move fast and break things” narrative.
“At present, the true environmental cost is quite concealed.” Somya Joshi, the chief of the Stockholm Environment Institute’s global agendas, climate, and systems division, informed CNBC via video call that it is simply subsidized by the necessity for tech companies to secure a product and a commitment.
The International Energy Agency anticipates that the investment in data centers will continue to increase in the years ahead, primarily due to the increasing adoption of generative AI and the acceleration of digitalization.
This prospect has exacerbated apprehensions regarding an increase in electricity demand, as well as the environmental impact of AI, which is frequently disregarded despite its critical importance.
A critical component of the infrastructure that underpins contemporary cloud computing and AI applications is data centers, which utilize an increasing quantity of energy.
Giampiero Frisio, the president of electrification at Swiss multinational ABB, stated that the data center business of the engineering group has experienced exceptional growth in recent years. The segment is expected to expand by over 24% in 2024.
Frisio stated that ABB has been strategically positioned to provide big-name and mid-sized industry participants with all the necessary components to operate a data center during the AI demand surge.
“I believe that the most effective course of action at this time is to enhance energy efficiency.” That is the most effective method, as the technology is available, such as the medium voltage HiPerGuard UPS. Frisio informed CNBC via video contact that “you can do it, and you can do it tomorrow morning.”
According to ABB, the HiPerGuard UPS is an industry-first medium voltage uninterruptible power supply that is capable of supplying uninterrupted power to substantial facilities.
“There is no doubt that the second step is to transition to liquid cooling.” Once more, this is in the context of enhanced energy efficiency. For what reason? “The power density of a single rack, which are the black boxes that resemble wardrobes and contain all the servers, will be four to six times greater than it was previously,” Frisio stated.
He further stated, “Subsequently, we are discussing the nuclear modular system in five to ten years.”
Big Tech is undergoing a nuclear transformation.
U.S. technology giants In recent months, Microsoft, Google, and Amazon have all secured nuclear energy agreements worth billions of dollars. Their objective is to bring additional energy capacity online in order to train and operate the massive generative AI models that underpin today’s applications.
A drive to identify more efficient cooling solutions in data centers, particularly liquid cooling, has coincided with the increase in demand for generative AI. This process involves the use of water to reduce the temperatures of servers and other electronic equipment.
Schneider Electric, a French manufacturer of power equipment, has recently acquired a controlling interest in Motivair Corp, a U.S.-based company that specializes in liquid cooling for high-performance computation, for $850 million.
The CEOs of Schneider Electric at the time told CNBC that the all-cash transaction, which is intended to strengthen the company’s offering to data centers, was “rich, but not overly expensive” and “fits great” with the company’s strategy.
Some stakeholders in the technology industry have asserted that improvements in artificial intelligence might contribute to the decarbonization of data centers, in addition to nuclear energy and liquid cooling technologies.
Source : CNBC News
