The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has allocated $40 million in funding for 15 projects aimed at developing high-performance cooling systems for data centers.

With data centers consuming about 2% of total U.S. electricity and their cooling operations accounting for up to 40% of energy usage, these projects aim to significantly reduce energy consumption and carbon emissions. The initiative supports President Biden's goal of achieving net-zero carbon by 2050 and addresses the threat of climate change to data center functionality.

The selected projects, located at national labs, universities, and businesses, will focus on enhancing energy efficiency and reducing power consumption in data center cooling. Innovations include the development of modular data centers, liquid cooling solutions, thermal management systems, and advanced cooling technologies. Additionally, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory will establish testing protocols to evaluate these cooling technologies in real operating conditions, ensuring their reliability, cost-effectiveness, and thermal performance.

The funding is provided through the DOE's Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E), which supports groundbreaking energy technologies. This initiative aligns with previous ARPA-E programs targeting the reliability and security of the power grid, including efforts to improve control and protection of the domestic power grid and undergrounding electric power lines. By investing in these projects, the DOE aims to mitigate the environmental impact of data centers while promoting clean energy solutions and advancing the energy transition.

Source: energy.gov