Iceotope shows off fully immersed liquid cooled servers

Uses 20 percent less power than traditional systems

COOL SERVER MAKER Iceotope has demonstrated its fully immersed liquid cooled server system that's in operation at the University of Leeds.

Using a non-conductive liquid, the liquid cooling system has a low dielectric constant such that, as far as the electronics inside are concerned the liquid acts like air, meaning the electronics can be submerged in it.

However, as there are no fans or moving parts needed to pump the liquid around because it naturally expands as it takes heat away from the electronics, Iceotope's server system claims to reduce data centre cooling costs by up 97 percent, power on computing load by 20 percent and overall ICT infrastructure costs by 50 percent when compared to traditional air or water cooling systems.

Iceotope also claims that the server liquid cooling system is up to 90 percent efficient at capturing heat from submerged servers, which can then be transferred and reused to heat other devices like domestic radiators up to 50 degrees Celsius, thus doubling power savings.

Iceotope's submerged servers have already attracted inquiries from many companies interested in using the technology.

By Lee Bell, The Inquirer

http://www.theinquirer.net/inquirer/news/2269056/iceotope-shows-off-fully-immersed-liquid-cooled-servers-video

Iceotope Garners Acclaim from Green IT Community!

The month of May sees Iceotope’s green IT credentials celebrated on both the home and international stage as part of a whirlwind week! 


On Thursday night, Iceotope won ‘Cooling Product of the Year’ by popular vote at the UK’s Green IT Awards ceremony and yesterday we accepted the award for ‘Facility Product Deployment’ as part of the Uptime Institute’s Green Enterprise IT Awards in the heart of Silicon Valley.



The Uptime Institute award recognises
the successful collaboration between
Iceotope, the University of Leeds and
3M in deploying Iceotope's innovative
liquid cooled servers at the University
and the combined efforts of all three
organisations to develop the technology.

The two award wins mark a fitting
testament to Iceotope’s continued
development and we are absolutely
delighted to receive yet more positive
reception for our work in advancing
energy efficiency in IT!

Iceotope Solution at University of Leeds

“The recognition we’re getting from these extremely prestigious industry bodies is absolutely incredible, especially to get so much praise for Iceotope’s work with Leeds, which is of course the company’s first publically announced customer. It is the tech sector’s equivalent of being given an Oscar for your first film!”

Peter Hopton, CEO



GEIT Awards 2013 Reception, Santa Clara, CA

New Data Center Liquid Cooling Process Wins Uptime Institute Award

Collaboration among 3M, Iceotope and University of Leeds Advances Energy Efficiency in Servers and Reduces Waste from Data Center Infrastructure

ST. PAUL, Minn. – May 13, 2013 - As the demand for more data and premiums on energy have grown, 3M Company along with Iceotope Research and Development Ltd, and the University of Leeds are working to advance energy efficiency in servers using new data center liquid cooling methodologies. The efforts will be recognized by the Uptime Institute today, which selected the organizations as a Green Enterprise IT (GEIT) Award winner for pioneering projects and innovations that significantly improve energy productivity and use of resources in IT.

The University of Leeds is being recognized in the Facility Product Deployment category of the GEIT Awards for its case study, which details the installation of the Iceotope Solution, a new liquid cooled server system designed and manufactured by Iceotope utilizing 3M™ Novec™ Engineered Fluids, at the University’s School of Mechanical Engineering thermofluids laboratory.  Iceotope chose Novec fluid for its excellent dielectric heat transfer performance with exceptional environmental properties. The result is a system that can be incorporated into existing data center infrastructure. Additionally, it reduces the energy used to cool IT equipment by up to 97 percent as it eliminates the need for chillers and air conditioning units. Harvested heat from the system is also being reused for heating the laboratory in the case of the University’s deployment.

“The team at The University of Leeds and Iceotope are true visionaries for finding innovative ways to respond to sustainability and energy efficiency needs in data centers,” said Joe Koch, business director at 3M Electronics Markets Materials Division. “We applaud their dedication and leadership and hope their accomplishments will inspire other industry leaders to come forward in helping to find better ways to address energy efficiency. In addition, the collaboration with our partners is consistent with 3M’s longstanding commitment to sustainable development and demonstrates 3M’s culture to work with our customers to meet energy-efficiency and sustainability objectives.”

While liquid cooling is generally recognized as being more efficient than air cooling, capturing the heat from the myriad of devices within a server has traditionally been challenging. Iceotope’s liquid encapsulation technology efficiently captures this heat without complex plumbing networks.  Additionally, revolutionary coolants like Novec fluids, which are non-ozone depleting, have wide margins of safety in their intended applications and low global warming potentials, further enable the possibilities. 

“As we are recognized for the successful deployment of the University of Leeds system with the GEIT award, we continue to collaborate with 3M to bring our cutting-edge liquid encapsulation cooling technology solution to the U.S. market to address the rising data center energy costs and high-performance computing needs as well as water and space conservation needs in a manner that fully conforms to industry standards,” said Peter Hopton, founder and Chief Executive Officer of Iceotope. 

Additionally, for the ninth consecutive year, 3M received the ENERGY STAR Sustained Excellence Award from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Energy for its comprehensive worldwide energy conservation efforts. The Dow Jones Sustainability Index continues to recognize 3M as a sustainability leader by including the company in its 2010-2011 global sustainability index. When 3M first introduced Novec technology in 1997, the American Chemical Society recognized the company’s scientists with a Heroes of Chemistry Award.

Visit 3M’s Uptime Symposium booth (#108) to witness the GEIT award-winning parties’ collaboration at work.  For more information regarding 3M Novec Engineered Fluids visit www.3M.com/Novec or for other 3M branded products log onto www.3M.com/datacenters. Also visit us on Facebook. For more information about 3M’s sustainability initiatives visit www.3M.com/sustainability.

About 3M

3M captures the spark of new ideas and transforms them into thousands of ingenious products. Our culture of creative collaboration inspires a never-ending stream of powerful technologies that make life better. 3M is the innovation company that never stops inventing. With $30 billion in sales, 3M employs about 88,000 people worldwide and has operations in more than 70 countries. For more information, visit www.3M.com or follow @3MNews on Twitter.

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/new-data-center-liquid-cooling-process-wins-uptime-institute-award-2013-05-13

Iceotope Selected to Pitch at Global Corporate Venturing Symposium in London!

Iceotope has yet again been recognised as one of the most disruptive companies in the world as it has been selected from over 50 entries as 1 of 10 organisations to present at the 2013 Global Corporate Venturing Symposium in London on 22 May.

The delegate list and agenda are impressive and substantial.  

Iceotope will present to 50 of the world's leading strategic and financial investors as part of the Corporate Venturing Portfolio for Energy.

Full details here - www.globalcorporateventuring.com.

Company Picks Up Top US Award!

ICEOTOPE and its project partners have been honoured with a prestigious green IT award in the United States.

The firm has won recognition for its liquid-based computer servers, which cut cooling costs by up to 97 per cent.

The Green Enterprise IT Awards — held in California in May — reward projects which significantly improve energy productivity.

Iceotope founder Peter Hopton said: “To be recognised in this manner, for what is just our first production system, really validates the work we’re doing and the environmental impact of this technology.

"The data centre industry is in something of an energy crisis. The financial and environmental
costs involved in powering a single facility are staggering and cooling inefficiencies are a significant factor. 

“We believe that the Iceotope solution has the potential to drive change in the data centre
industry for the better.”

The server, using 3M Novec Engineered Fluids, was developed with a team of researchers
at the School of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Leeds.

The eighth annual awards are hosted by the Uptime Institute in Santa Clara. All three partners will speak about their role in the project when they pick up the award.


Report by Gareth Dennison, Rotherham Advertiser

THAT'S COOL

A FORWARD-thinking firm has produced a new computer which is kept cool by being completely immersed in liquid. 

The server’s temperature is controlled by the revolutionary fluid — called 3M TM Novec TM — which does not damage electronics. 

A mobile phone could be dropped in a tub of the coolant and still work perfectly because it does not conduct electricity. 

So while computers use air to cool their parts, all of the components in the new server — developed in Rotherham — are completely covered in the liquid. 

The technology could slash the carbon footprint of the internet and become a watershed moment for the global IT industry.

Peter Hopton, chief technology officer at Iceotope, said: “While a few years away, there is no reason why every home shouldn’t make better use of the surplus heat from consumer electronics. Imagine having your PC or TV plumbed into the central heating system.”

Chief executive Neil Bennett said: “IT has been the poster child of the new economy but its environmental impact has frequently been unaddressed. Given the increasing scarcity of
resources such as energy and clean water, we are delivering computing with a conscience.”

The power-sapping fans of traditional computers are replaced by a silent next-generation liquid-cooling process.

Designers at Iceotope, based at the Catcliffe’s Advanced Manufacturing Park, reckon the server can cut energy consumption by between 80 and 97 per cent.

More than five years of research have gone into the technology. The coolant can even be drawn from rain or riverwater — further reducing the environmental impact.

The server also does away with the need for ancillary facilities in data centres like computer room air conditioning, humidity control systems and air purification.

A company spokesman added: “While the information industry enjoys an image of environmental friendliness, all internet use relies on remote servers. These are usually housed in large data centres that must be constantly cooled to remain operational. The reality is that the mobile apps, networked devices and 24-hour internet access on which we have come to rely are energy hungry.”

AMP marketing manager Simon Spode said: “This technology really has the capability of being a gamechanger for the world’s IT industry in the same way that stainless steel did for manufacturing 100 years ago.”

Iceotope worked with staff at the University of Leeds. Research lead Dr Jon Summers said: “The liquid we are using is extraordinary stuff.”


Report by Gareth Dennison, Rotherham Advertiser

Uptime Institute Names Winners of 2013 Green Enterprise IT Awards

Uptime Institute, a division of The 451 Group, has announced the winners of the 2013 Green Enterprise IT Awards, which recognise pioneering advancements that significantly improve energy productivity and resource use in IT. The 2013 GEIT Awards winners are: · Audacious Idea: TeraCool LLC · Facility Design Implementation: National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR), The RMH Group and H+L Architecture · Facility Design Innovation: TD Bank Group · Facility Product Deployment: University of Leeds, Iceotope and 3M Company · Facility Retrofit: Interxion · Green Digital Infrastructure Strategy: Cisco Systems · IT Product Deployment: Arc Productions and TSO Logic · IT Retrofit: Avnet, Inc. "Our honoree complement includes 30 organizations associated with 19 case studies and spans eight countries this year," said Matt Stansberry , Program Director of Uptime Institute Symposium and Director of Content and Publications for Uptime Institute. Uptime Institute also announced the following 2013 GEIT Awards Finalists: Microsoft (Audacious Idea); Melbourne Water and Norman Disney & Young (Facility Design Implementation); TELUS Corporation and Skanska (Facility Design Innovation); Lawrence Berkeley National Lab and SynapSense Corporation (Facility Product Deployment); Schuberg Philis and De Vlieg Techniek (Facility Retrofit); Avnet, Inc. (Green Digital Infrastructure Strategy); NTT DATA and Intel® Corporation (IT Product Deployment); and Stanford University (IT Retrofit). In addition, the following organizations received an Honorable Mention in the 2013 GEIT Awards competition: QTS (Quality Technology Services) (Audacious Idea); University of St. Andrews, IT Services (Facility Design Implementation); and eBay, Winter Street Architects and AHA Consulting Engineers (Facility Design Innovation). The 2013 GEIT Awards are sponsored by Sabey Data Centers. Entries were thoroughly reviewed by an international committee of independent judges using a double-blind process and criteria. "This year's entries have included an impressive mix - from unique innovations to excellent project executions - and as always the rigorous process that we go through at the GEIT Awards has allowed us to pick the very best from an outstanding collection of entries." - Martin Bradley , GEIT Awards Judge and Head of European Data Centre Engineering and Operations, Morgan Stanley The recipients will be honored at Uptime Institute Symposium in Santa Clara, California, on May 13-16, 2013, where they will share experiences and insights with industry peers through case-study presentations. Uptime Institute Symposium is the most influential all-stakeholder thought-leadership conference serving the global data center industry. The theme for Uptime Institute Symposium 2013 is The Global Digital Infrastructure Evolution. IT and data center thought-leaders and innovators from around the world will meet at the Santa Clara Convention Center to consider the present and future state of the Digital Infrastructure, as well as strategies on how to best evaluate the alternatives and make the best decisions for their organizations within this rapidly changing environment. The GEIT Award winners' case-study presentations are scheduled throughout Symposium. This year's Symposium features three tracks, which are tailored to the three primary professional roles responsible for managing and influencing this Digital Infrastructure Evolution: Senior IT Executives, Data Center Management and Operations, and Data Center Designers / Engineers. All 2013 Green Enterprise IT Awards honorees are invited to brief Symposium delegates on their case studies at the GEIT Awards Showcase scheduled for the afternoon of Monday, May 13. Winners will be honored at the Awards banquet that evening.

http://www.snseurope.info/article/26775/Uptime-Institute-names-winners-of-2013-Green-Enterprise-IT-Awards