Tuesday 12 July 2011

Iceotopes revolutionary liquid cooling technology results in cooling power cost savings of 97%

The assets of Sheffield-based company Iceotope, producers of the first truly scalable modular liquid cooling platform, have been bought by a consortium including the original engineering team, backed by a seven figure investment sum. Original inventor, and newly appointed CTO, Peter Hopton led the fund-raising to acquire the technology and the IP. Iceotope has a patented approach to dramatically reduce power consumption in data centres by tackling the problem of cooling servers at the source of the heat at component level. Iceotope licenses this technology to vendors, helping them to reduce the cooling requirements in their servers and electronics. The electronic components are sealed inside giant heat-pipes containing an ultra-convective fluid, so that all generated heat can be captured in water and efficiently removed, without heating up the surrounding data centre environment.

Hopton is famous for pitching his green IT technologies on the TV programme Dragons Den. Despite being turned down by the Dragons when he pitched his company VeryPC, Hopton has now successfully secured investment for Iceotope originally a VeryPC spin off allowing him to take over as CTO of Iceotope while becoming the Executive Chairman at VeryPC.

Iceotope servers can reduce facility operating costs and carbon output with their unique thermal cooling technology. Data centres can save 20% of power consumption at the server level and make a saving of 97% of costs associated with cooling power, an overall reduction of over 50% for the typical data centre.

With Iceotope servers, the components are encapsulated in 3M Novec, an inert and environmentally sound coolant, and all waste heat generated from the servers is used to passively pump the coolant solution through the system by encouraging a state of ultra-convection, thus removing the need for fans, chillers and airflow. Iceotope then transfers this heat to outside of the data centre and the heat can even be repurposed to heat other office
spaces. With the data centre industry growing by 12% each year, data centre providers are struggling to keep up with demand for higher efficiency and higher density, while keeping power consumption and costs to a minimum, said Peter Hopton, CTO of Iceotope. Iceotopes unique technology can help data centre providers to save half of all overall electricity costs compared to an average data centre. According to IDC, approximately 40 percent of todays data centre costs are power-related, however, by 2015, this figure will exceed 50 percent, continued Hopton. In order to attempt to combat these escalating costs, many companies are looking to drastic measures to improve their cooling efficiency, such as moving their data centres to the Arctic Circle. Iceotope technology makes this move  obsolete, as this unique liquid cooling technology allows full-time free cooling everywhere on
the globe. Liquid cooling has safely been used for decades in data centres, Iceotope offers the next generation in liquid cooling to server operators.



07 December 2011
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Cooling business bought out



The assets of Sheffield-based Iceotope have been bought out by a consortium, backed by a seven figure investment sum, on the back of entering administration in October.

Green data business Iceotope provides liquid cooling technology which reduces power consumption in data
centres.

The consortium, which is acquiring the technology and IP, is being led by the original engineering team of the
business, including original inventor and newly appointed chief technology officer Peter Hopton.

Hopton comments: 'With the data centre industry growing by 12 per cent each year, data centre providers are
struggling to keep up with the demand for higher efficiency and higher density, while keeping power consumptionand costs to a minimum.

'Iceotope's unique technology can help data centre providers to save half of all overall electricity costs compared to an average data centre.'

Hopton gained fame for pitching green IT technologies on investor programme Dragons' Den, despite not
securing capital for his company VeryPC.

Iceotope's technology works by sealing the electronic components in a data centre inside 'giant' head-pipes
containing ultra-convective fluid. This in turn means that all generated heat can be contained in water and
'efficiently' removed without heating up the surrounding data centre environment.

According to a statement 40 per cent of today's data centre costs are power related. By 2015 this figure is
expected to exceed 50 per cent.

'In order to attempt to combat these escalating costs, many companies are looking to drastic measures to
improve their cooling efficiency, such as moving their data centres to the Arctic Circle,' Hopton says.

'Iceotope technology makes this move obsolete, as this liquid cooling technology allows full-time free cooling
everywhere on the globe.'

 
07 December 2011
 

 

Founder buys company’s cool assets


The founder of server cooling technology developer Iceotope bought the assets of the company after raising a
seven-figure sum.

Peter Hopton, original founder and chief technical officer of Iceotope, led a consortium to acquire the technology and the intellectual property of the company with the aim of rapidly taking the product to market.

Iceotope aims to reduce power consumption in data centres by tackling the problem of cooling servers at the source of the heat - at component level.

The company licenses this technology to suppliers to help them to reduce the cooling requirements in their servers and electronics.

The electronic components are sealed inside giant heat-pipes containing an ultra-convective fluid, so that all generated heat can be captured in water and efficiently removed, without heating up the surrounding data centre environment.

Mr Hopton appeared on Dragons’ Den in 2008 with his company VeryPC.

Although he failed to secure investment from the panel, he has now secured investment for Iceotope - originally a VeryPC spin-off - allowing him to take over as chief technical officer of the company while becoming the executive chairman at VeryPC.

He said: "With the data centre industry growing by 12 per cent each year, data centre providers are struggling to keep up with demand for higher efficiency and higher density, while keeping power consumption and costs to a minimum."

He added: "Liquid cooling has safely been used for decades in data centres, Iceotope offers the next generation in liquid cooling to server operators."

 
Yorkshire Post (Web)
07 December 2011