Recent reports reveal that tech giants Intel and SGI are working together to build a new supercomputer that can be kept cool by submerging in a special kind of fluid developed by 3M.
The proof-of-concept supercomputer dubbed the SGI ICE X, powered by Intel’s Xeon processor E5-2600, when placed directly into 3M’s Novec Engineered Fluid, is said to significantly reduce energy and water use, setting the stage for the future of data centers.
3M claims that a supercomputer submerged in Novec needs 10 times less space and eliminates air conditioning requirements that go with liquid cooling.
The fluid maker says its two-phase immersion cooling technology can reduce cooling energy costs by 95 percent and also water consumption by eliminating municipal water usage for evaporative cooling. It enables much tighter component packaging allowing for greater computing power in less space.
The dielectric liquid, Novec, is also an excellent heat exchanger and can be recycled, either to heat buildings or for industrial uses or power generation.
“Intel is continually innovating and improving microprocessor technologies to meet today’s datacentre demands and is working with companies like 3M and SGI to explore advanced cooling technologies that improve energy efficiency in datacenters while also containing operating costs,” said Charles Wuishpard, general manager of workstation and HPC at Intel.
“We are thrilled with the work that our collaboration with SGI and Intel has produced,” said Joe Koch, business director for 3M electronics markets materials Division.
“These advancements are a significant stepping stone in accelerating industry wide collaboration to optimize computer hardware design.”
Jorge Titinger, president and CEO of SGI, said “Through this collaboration with Intel and 3M, we are able to demonstrate a proof-of-concept showcasing an extremely innovative capability to reduce energy use in data centers, while optimising performance.”
The trio is currently working with the Naval Research Laboratory, Lawrence Berkeley National Labs and APC by Schneider Electric to deploy and evaluate the system to demonstrate viability of the technology at any scale.
