Friday 22 March 2013



When Ray Harroun came out of retirement in 1911 to race in the first Indianapolis 500, he made one request: He wanted to ditch the ride-along mechanic that the rules required in order to save weight and give his yellow Marmon Wasp a racing edge.
The Indy organizers balked: The mechanic provided a big measure of safety, they said, acting as a spotter who could watch for cars behind or on either side of the racer.
Harroun bolted a mirror to a bracket on his dashboard, was permitted to race without a mechanic, and won the inaugural Indy race - leading 88 of the 200 laps, the most of anyone.
And the rear-view mirror that Harroun used to gain an advantage in a car race? It's now standard safety equipment on motor vehicles of all types - meaning it occupies the ranks of devices or substances that were designed to solve one problem, but were later found to solve others just as well.
Today I'm going to share a similar story, and show you how a fluid developed to keep aircraft parts clean or suppress fires is being used to solve one of the biggest computer problems we face today.
And I'm even going to show you how to make money from it.
In the Age of the Internet, the invention of a high-powered computer known as a "server" is one of the things that have allowed our tech-oriented society to survive and thrive.
In a nod to our country's agrarian roots, these servers are packed into huge buildings, organized in neat rows just like the corn on a Midwest farm.
But that's where the agrarian similarity ends.

You see, as electronic circuits keep getting smaller, they make each server used for the Web and private computer networks much more powerful. But technology is just like finance in that there's no free lunch: This escalation in power and reduction in size creates a big problem.
I'm talking about heat.
These servers run very hot. And that, in turn, increases the odds of a server "meltdown," meaning the box just gets fried and becomes useless.
Right now, server farms rely on two main cooling sources.
The first is high-speed electric fans that blow air over the devices.
The second is executed by pumping lots of cold air into these huge rooms.
Trust me, you wouldn't want to have to pay the electricity bill for one of these facilities: Experts estimate that the U.S. alone spends roughly $7.4 billion a year cooling data centers.
Now you understand one of the key financial drains with all these server farms sprouting up all over the world.
But here's the thing: With every problem that needs solving, there's also a profit opportunity for the organization that devises the solution.
Enter Iceotope Research and Development Ltd. Their solution: keep computers cool by using a strange gooey liquid.
Don't scoff.  Liquids and sensitive electronic gear usually work together like a baseball and your neighbor's living-room window. But Iceotope has found a way for an alcohol-based chemical to keep all those circuits running cool -without the liquid damaging the complex electronic gear.
To achieve its results, the U.K.-based firm partnered with industry giant 3M Co. (NYSE: MMM). That big-cap leader has sold its Novec Engineered Fluid for at least two decades.
Because it isn't water-based - meaning it doesn't cause oxidation (rust) or other types of corrosion - the substance is often used by the military and aerospace firms as a parts cleaner. It also works great as a fire suppressant in rooms full of electronics because use of a water-based product there could ruin millions of dollars' worth of sensitive equipment.
But using it as a liquid cooling agent for computer centers is indeed a novel use of this substance. As such, I see this as just one more example of how we have entered what I call the "Golden Age of Materials Sciences."
If we're to maintain the rapid pace of innovation we've been experiencing, we have to keep finding new materials that can solve complex problems.
Or come up with unique new twists for already-existing chemicals.
That's why I think Iceotope is really onto something here. The result is a system that offers huge efficiencies.
Really, the stats are off the charts. Consider that Iceotope says its approach lowers data-center-cooling costs by 97%. That's pretty close to getting it down to free.
But that's not all - the firm says its approach lowers overall infrastructure costs for these centers by half and reduces the overall power load by 20%.
And the cooling system is only part of Iceotope's innovative package. There's also the "platform" itself. And it's pretty simple, combining a computer cabinet with a server module.
In turn, those modules can be set up for dedicated computing, or for telecommunications needs.
Iceotope is after two main markets. First, the cabinets can be designed as supercomputers. Those machines are used for such Big Data applications as searching through social networks, looking for the origins of the universe and catching terrorists before they strike.
Second, the boxes tap another major trend - cloud computing. That's because they can be wired into a series of server racks that comprise a full data center. This is a real growth area because hundreds of millions of mobile devices need to access the cloud for data, video and more.
So, Iceotope has great science, access to one of the world's top materials companies, and a couple of major tech trends going for it.
But it's also a private company, meaning it has yet to issue its stock to the public.
But don't worry about that - there are actually four ways to profit from this new field of "liquid-cooled computing."
First, there's 3M. The mega cap firm likely won't get a lot of sales from the Iceotope solution at this point.
But the breakthrough shows the firm can still remain on the leading edge of high tech at a time when materials science is so vital.
For its computer modules, Iceotope is working with Intel Corp. (NasdaqGS: INTC) and its arch rival - Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (NasdaqGS: AMD).
These two chipmakers couldn't be more different. Intel has a market cap of $107 billion, compared to $1.9 billion for AMD. Intel is clearly the more stable of the two firms.
In the past, I have described AMD's stock as a "bottom-feeder's dream." Trading at $2.60 a share, it's a risky play suited for aggressive investors.
Let me close by telling you about one other firm partnering with Iceotope. It's Super Micro Computer Inc. (NasdaqGS: SMCI), a maker of high-performance servers.
With a market cap of about $490 million, Super Micro trades at 10 times forward earnings and just 0.45 times sales at its recent share price of roughly $11.60.
With a consensus target of $15 - about 30% above where Super Micro is trading now - analysts seem to like the shares of this maker of energy-efficient computer servers.
It's impossible for me to predict at this point which of these stocks will have the best performance over the next couple of years.
But this much is certain. Liquid-cooled computing is an exciting new field that could have a dramatic impact on the entire field of computing, an area that touches just about every part of our lives today.
And just as Ray Harroun had no idea how much his invention would change the world that day in Indianapolis, there's no telling what other innovations this new data-farm technology will spawn.
Just know that when those innovations do appear, we'll be here to show you the best ways to profit.

http://moneymorning.com/2013/03/22/profit-from-the-breakthrough-in-liquid-cooled-computers/

Wednesday 13 March 2013

University of Leeds Tests ‘Revolutionary’ Liquid-Cooled Server


When energy generated by computers can be captured and redeployed, it might not be long until our homes are heated by our PCs and TVs, says Iceotope CTO Pete Hopton.

A liquid-cooled server that inventors claim could ‘slash the carbon footprint of the Internet’ - or at the very least, cut data-centre energy bills - is being tested at the University of Leeds. The University has purchased the first production system from Iceotope, creator of the patented, energy-efficient technology that is designed, engineered and manufactured in the UK.

Prior to this investment, researchers at the University’s School of Mechanical Engineering had already tested several prototypes and beta models of Iceotope’s technology. Now, the company is funding research into possible heat recovery using this unit. It also has relationships with several other UK universities for research purposes, according to chief technology officer and founder, Pete Hopton.

Unlike conventional air-cooled servers, all components in the Iceotope unit are completely immersed in a non-flammable liquid coolant, called 3M Novec, which can come into direct contact with electronics, because it does not conduct electricity. It also has high thermal expansivity, meaning it can expand 20 times more than water when uptaking heat, explains Dr Jon Summers, senior lecturer and researcher at the University of Leeds.

“The Novec that is used in the Iceotope module is a manufactured hydrofluoroether - a high molecular weight, complex organic solvent that is non-toxic and has a low global warming potential,” he says. “It is also an extinguishent and is used in a number of fire suppressant systems already used in many modern data-centre facilities today.”

This liquid coolant is “remarkable stuff”, he adds: “You could throw your mobile phone in a tub of it and the phone would still work perfectly. But the important thing for the future of computing and the Internet is that it is more than 1,000 times more effective at carrying heat than air.”

Since the heat generated inside the server can only be moved, not destroyed, the 3M Novec is used to transfer heat to an aluminium block, which has a secondary coolant - clean, distilled water - passing through it. This picks up the heat and transports it away from the server modules to the bottom of the server rack, where it is again exchanged with a tertiary coolant - again, water.

At Leeds University, water heated in this way is subsequently used to warm a set of large, domestic radiators that heat the large, open-plan laboratory. In future installations of Iceotope’s technology, it is envisaged that so-called ‘grey’ water - recyclable wastewater - could be used as the tertiary coolant.

Could this system become cheap enough, over time, to replace commodity servers in a conventional data-centre environment? For Summers, it’s more likely a replacement for the kinds of high-performance computing (HPC) machines seen in advanced research facilities in education, health and government - and potentially, in utility and cloud computing environments, too.

Hopton, meanwhile, comments: “Iceotope has done value analysis for several customers and we have found that [the technology] currently works out better in terms of both capital expenditure (capex) and operational expenditure (opex) when considering the costs of supporting infrastructure and energy. This is because of the removal of the requirement for fans, chillers, air handling and raised floors - plus a reduction in power handling equipment.”

And, further down the line, there are far greater opportunities for liquid-cooling, he says: “The basic principle of the design has many applications and, while a few years away [yet], there’s 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.”


Reported by Jessica Twentyman

Wednesday 6 March 2013

Centre brings advanced manufacturing back home


THE Advanced Manufacturing Park Technology Centre is proving a hit with some of the UK's fastest growing and most innovative companies. Ian Briggs reports.

WITH occupancy levels having grown by 240% over the last three years, the Advanced Manufacturing Park Technology Centre (AMPTC) is enjoying success in what for many business hubs is a difficult climate.

And those behind it believe it can reach even greater heights as more facilities are constructed at the Advanced Manufacturing Park near Rotherham, South Yorkshire.

AMPTC centre manager John Palframan described the location as a centre of excellence. It boasts 47 companies, a 17% increase over the last 12 months.

Toby Hyam, managing director of Creative Space Management, which operates the AMPTC, said the centre was a fine example of the formation of an advanced manufacturing cluster.
"We see companies growing and growing and then moving on and we see those that grow within the building," he said.

"It's of global importance. We're getting people visiting here to set up clusters of advanced manufacturing businesses."

The centre is owned by the Homes and Communities Agency and based on the AMP, which is also home to Boeing, Rolls Royce and the Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre.
"The collaboration going on here is important," said Mr Palframan. "It's the Park Lane address for advanced manufacturing."

Mr Palframan praised the impact of the Sheffield City Region Local Enterprise Partnership.
"The LEP is very supportive," he said. "We're part of the enterprise zone. Our LEP is one of the most effective in the UK. Advanced manufacturing is very much recognised by the LEP."
Mr Palframan said centres like the AMPTC were helping to promote the UK as a leader in advanced manufacturing over places like China.

CASE STUDY:
ONE of the tenants at the AMPTC is Iceotope, one of few companies in the world to invent, design and manufacture eco-friendly, liquid cooled computer servers.
Iceotope’s unique next generation liquid cooling system was developed in conjunction with 3M and the University of Leeds; a major reason why Iceotope chose AMP as its base for operations in April 2012.

Iceotope’s product, the Iceotope Solution, is comprised of two components – the Iceotope Platform and the Iceotope Module. It can be configured as a single supercomputer, as multiple server cabinets or scaled out to create an entire data centre. Its unique patented design of liquid encapsulation of electronics is the only of its kind in the world.

Iceotope is driven by an ambition to reduce the environmental footprint of IT by reducing the costs associated with power and cooling in data centres and other high-performing computing environments.

Behind the company’s success is a passionate team. Both the original inventor and lead designer are Sheffield graduates.

Iceotope has two work spaces at the centre, as well as flexible office space, where its technology is designed, assembled and tested. Currently marketing its product throughout the UK and EU, Iceotope is specifically targeting the data centre and high performance computing industries.


Monday 4 March 2013

UK company Iceotope finds way to cool down data server – saves power, cuts Co2

The most surprising piece of video I’ve seen recently is of a smartphone immersed in a beaker of some clear liquid, photographing the TV camera that was filming it. Link here

This is what TV viewers saw, and I’m sure they were amazed. Doesn’t everybody know that if you drop your mobile phone into water, or worse, it immediately packs up?

TV news is always looking for dramatic images, and I can’t blame them for choosing this one. But it’s only part of a more complicated – in visual terms – story. There’s a very exciting prospect, beyond this curious glass of liquid. (It was 3M Novec 1230 fluid, so-called “waterless water”.)

In short, a possible way to reduce the vast amount of energy we use to cool the Internet.

This is our problem. All the data we generate, from our computers, smartphones, our banks’ computers, the government, in short all the Internet data everybody uses, passes through and is stored on remote machines called servers, usually housed in large data centres all over the world. Great banks of servers keep purring away day and night, all year around.

It’s the nature of these machines that they get very hot, and so does the space around them. So they have to be constantly cooled, in the main with energy-guzzling high powered fans, which also produce heat. There’s usually air conditioning as well. Using all this air to cool the servers is very inefficient, and it takes a huge amount of power.

In the USA data centers used about 76 billion kilowatt-hours in 2010, or roughly 2 percent of all electricity used in the country that year. Put another way, the global power used to cool servers in 2011 was equivalent to half the energy, 31 gigawatts, used in peak hours in the UK.

That power bill is only going to get bigger. Saving data, and using the Internet, is a big generator of CO2. And we, as consumers, haven’t until now paid it much attention.

So what could Iceotope,a little start-up company in Rotherham, in Yorkshire, and the University of Leeds, where the still-functioning smartphone in a jar was filmed, do about it?

Between them they come up with a way of using Novec 1230 to cool down a server, and they say they are using 87% less energy to do it.

This is where that phone in a jar comes into the story. It demonstrates a remarkable property of this liquid. It has no effect on the electronics on the phone. “Real” water would’ve got into the workings instantly and quickly damaged it beyond repair – many of us know from bitter experience that if we do get our phones wet, we have to take the battery and the Sim card out as quickly as possible, and dry them off before they are ruined.

Imagine all the electrical and electronic parts of a server completely immersed in that same 3M “water”. It does them no harm at all. The server carries on working. Those power-hungry fans used to cool things down are no longer needed. They are replaced by a silent liquid cooling process. A low energy pump, located at the bottom of the cabinet, pumps a secondary coolant (ordinary water) to the top where, by gravity, it cascades down throughout all 48 modules. A third coolant, on an external loop, takes the heat away for possible reuse. Its designers calculate that the server cuts energy consumption for cooling by between 80 percent and 97 percent.

Novec 1230, a key component of the liquid-cooled server, was designed for use in firefighting where sprinklers would damage expensive equipment, or in places where water would be impractical – in libraries and galleries for example. It replaced an earlier product which had a considerable Co2 value and was ozone-depleting.

As the our use of the internet grows, and the world installs more and more servers – a 2008 report by McKinsey projected that data centre carbon emissions will quadruple by 2020 – there’s going to be an awful lot more heat to dissipate.

Companies are thinking of ways of bringing down the heat, but the obvious solution seems to be to find another method of cooling the server itself. Could this be Iceotope’s moment?

Iceotope has spent five years developing its liquid-cooled server. The University of Leeds School of Mechanical Engineering has been trying out a working prototype and has now installed the first production system. Iceotope and the University showed it off to the media in February 2013.

It’s going to take some time before it can be scaled up, and things could go wrong yet. Yet if Iceotope’s system can be shown to work on a bigger scale, and if it can be put into large-scale production, and if it is widely adopted, the consequences for energy conservation could be considerable.

There are other advantages. The heat from the server is transferred into (ordinary) water, which is piped away. That water can be reused. It can reach temperatures of 50°C (122°F), hot enough to be used for radiators.

Servers cooled in this way could be deployed where it is not possible today. Because it is silent and cool, users needn’t be so fussy about where they put the completely enclosed system. It could be used in places not appropriate for the standard (fan cooled) system, such as a submarine, the school classroom and the desert.

There are other potential applications. You know how hot your TV and audio system gets? Imagine if this cooling method could be applied to these, and perhaps even your fridge, allowing the heat to be drawn off and redirected into your central heating system. That’s what Iceotope have in mind.

If you want a good example of research and development, by a small number of dedicated, and bright, people working together to produce something that might be quite important for us all, look no further than this.

The product is not a done deal by any means, but it could have a very exciting future.

http://www.garethhuwdavies.com/environment_blog/uk-company-iceotope-find-way-to-cool-down-data-server-saves-power-cuts-co2/

The Iceotope Liquid Cooling System in Action

This cross-section of an Iceotope server module provides an overview of the liquid cooling system and how the water and Novec function inside the chassis. (Photo: Iceotope)

Iceotope has moved from the show floor to the lab. The UK cooling company, which launched

in 2009, has developed a liquid cooling system that encapsulates servers in heat pipe modules containing 3M’s Novec fluid as its heat removal medium. Last March we provided an update on the company's demo at the Cebit trade show, and a year later the company has a system running in the lab at the University of Leeds.
The company makes some attention-getting claims about its liquid cooling technology, claiming it can reduces data center cooling costs by 97 percent, IT power load by 20 percent and overall infrastructure costs by 50 percent. But Iceotope has advanced slowly since its debut at the SC09 conference, testing its technology at the Universty of Sheffield and now at the University of Leeds, which said this week that it has got its the first Iceotope production system installed after two years of testing prototypes.
In Iceotope’s approach, each servermotherboard is completely immersed in a sealed bath of liquid coolant which passively transfers heat away from the electronics to a heat exchanger formed by the wall of the module, where water is continuously re-circulated by low-power pumps. The system is nearly silent and requires no cooling outside the cabinet, which in theory would allow data center operators to eliminate expensive room-level cooling schemes. Iceotope says its system uses just 80 watts of power to harvest the heat from up to 20 kilowatts of IT equipment.
“The fact that this system is completely enclosed raises a host of possibilities,” said Dr. Nikil Kapur, also from the University of Leeds’ School of Mechanical Engineering. “It does not interact with its environment in the way an air-cooled server does, so you could put it in an extreme environment like the desert. It is also completely silent. You could have it on a submarine or in a classroom.”
“Extraordinary Stuff”
“The liquid we are using is extraordinary stuff,” said  Dr. Jon Summers, Kapur’s colleague at the University of Leeds. “You could throw your mobile phone in a tub of it and the phone would work perfectly. But the important thing for the future of computing and the Internet is that it is more than 1,000 times more effective at carrying heat than air.”
Iceotope uses Novec, a non-conductive chemical with a very low boiling point, which easily condenses from gas back to liquid. It’s made by 3M, which is also developing its own immersion cooling technology around Novec. That technology, known as “open bath immersion cooling,” is in the early stages of commercialization. But another liquid cooling vendor, Green Revolution Cooling, has placed several installations in production and is working with Intel to adapt motherboards for its immersion cooling systems.
Iceotope executives say they are pleased with their progress and see big things ahead for the technology.
“More than five years of research, innovation and collaboration have gone into Iceotope’s technology,” said Peter Hopton, Iceotope’s Chief Technology Officer. “The basic principle of the design has many applications and, 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.”

Reported by Rich Miller

Friday 1 March 2013

Liquid-cooled server first in Leeds


A liquid-cooled computer server designed in the UK is being tested at the University of Leeds.

The claim is the system which effectively immerses the components of the server in liquid is more energy efficient than air-cooled systems which require fans.

Its designers calculate that the server cuts energy consumption for cooling by between 80% and 97%.  

UK start-up Iceotope designed and built the server working with team of researchers led by Dr Jon Summers from the University of Leeds’ School of Mechanical Engineering. 

“The basic principle of the design has many applications and, 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," said Peter Hopton, Iceotope’s chief technology officer and originator of the Iceotope concept. 

Start-ups to follow in 2013 - Iceotope

The first production system has now been installed at the University after two years of testing prototypes.

The team from Leeds used computational fluid dynamics to model how the coolant flows through the new server’s components.

The non-flammable liquid coolant, called 3M Novec, can be in direct contact with electronics because it does not conduct electricity. 

“The liquid we are using is extraordinary stuff. You could throw your mobile phone in a tub of it and the phone would work perfectly,” said Summers.

“The important thing for the future of computing and the internet is that it is more than 1,000 times more effective at carrying heat than air," said Summers. 

A low energy pump, located at the bottom of the cabinet, is used to pump a secondary coolant (water) to the top where it cascades down throughout all 48 modules due to gravity.

The secondary coolant terminates at heat exchangers within the cabinet for transfer of heat to a third and final coolant, on an external loop, taking the heat away for external cooling or reuse.

The third coolant can be drawn from “grey water” sources such as rainwater or river water, further reducing the environmental impact of the server. 

The output water can reach temperatures of up to 50°C, which can be used for heating. 

The cooling system uses just 80W of power to remove the heat from computers drawing up to 20kW. 

“The fact that this system is completely enclosed raises a host of possibilities. It does not interact with its environment in the way an air-cooled server does, so you could put it in an extreme environment like the desert,” said Dr Nikil Kapur, from the University of Leeds’ School of Mechanical Engineering

http://www.electronicsweekly.com/Articles/01/03/2013/55679/liquid-cooled-server-first-in-leeds.htm

New way to keep PCs cool: Submerge them in goo


As a result, the cost of keeping the datacenters cool is massively reduced (and they're quieter, to boot). A "rack" of servers might take several kilowatts of power for its fans and venting, but Iceotope's use only a small fraction of that — 80 watts or less. And the outgoing water is easier to handle than hot air and could even be used for purposes such as residential heating.
The scourge of the hot computer isn't limited to lap-scalding notebooks. The enormous datacenters used by the likes of Facebook and Google generate immense amounts of heat and cost a fortune in air conditioning. But there's a new option: Dip the whole computer in heat-dissipating goo.
Most computers these days are air-cooled with fans. (You can often hear one spinning up if your computer is working hard on a task.)

Iceotope and novecHigher-end computers such as custom gaming rigs may resort to water cooling, which uses cool water in copper pipes to absorb and whisk away more heat than air alone. Even exotic materials like liquid nitrogen or hydrogen can be used in extreme circumstances.


But those aren't suitable for applying to the thousands of servers in a Facebook datacenter. Unfortunately, the most common solution seems to be huge air-conditioning and venting systems, along with using naturally cool locations — a solution that could have ecological implications.

A company called Iceotope has what it thinks is the best of both worlds: putting the whole server "blade" (the individual hardware component of a server "farm") inside a container full of a special liquid called Novec. Made by 3M, it's specially engineered to dissipate heat, doing so 20 times faster than water — and 1,000 times faster than air.

IceotopeBut the key is that Novec doesn't conduct electricity at all, meaning that a computer or any electronic device can sit in it and run, happy as a clam. The researchers who came up with the technique demonstrate the benefits of Novec this in the following video, which shows mobile phones being dunked and functioning perfectly well:
The server works at high capacity and produces lots of heat, which spreads out quickly through the Novec bath. The module's enclosure is made of aluminum, which also conducts heat well, outside of which is an array of running pipes, filled with cool water. This fast-moving water draws out the heat and then gets promptly pumped out.
This sort of system is great for Google and its big-data ilk, but what about consumers? For now, the system is too specialized for use in laptops, or for that matter smartphones, which occasionally also get hot to the touch. It's not out of the question, but this magic liquid will probably take some time to trickle down, so to speak, to ordinary usersThe first to deploy the system is the University of Leeds, which helped test and develop the server modules. They'll be using it to run engineering students' computer models — and routing the warmed water through radiators to heat the lab.



Iceotope plumbs in immersively cooled servers for first customer


Iceotope's immersively cooled server racks are now in production, and the company has named its first customer. The University of Leeds has been using an Iceotope server since December to run computational fluid dynamics models -- and to warm the radiators in one of its laboratories.

The company showed off prototypes of its unusual liquid-cooled system at the Cebit trade show in Germany last March, but took another few months to figure out how to mass-produce the aluminum server modules, which are filled with Novec, an inert coolant liquid from 3M.The Novec carries heat from the server motherboard to the module's surface by natural convection, without the need for noisy, inefficient fans. Water is pumped to the top of the rack, from where it trickles down over the modules to a heat exchanger. A secondary water circuit then carries the heat away, either to a rooftop cooling system or, at the University of Leeds, to regular domestic radiators.

Leeds University Tests UK Company Iceotope’s Liquid-Cooled Servers



Iceotope has announced its first customer, having installed a next generation liquid-cooled server at the University of Leeds. The British firm has been working on its system for some years and plans to take part in a major shift as it believes data centres will have to move to liquid cooling to reduce their energy consumption in the near future.

After two years of testing prototypes, Iceotope has installed the first liquid-cooled production system at the university, where it is being assessed in a real-world environment. The Iceotope’s system essentially cools hot-running servers, sealed into a specially-made blade, by immersing them in liquid coolant solution. Heat is removed from the blade by circulating hot water past it within the system rack.

University examination

Iceotope claims to be able to reduce the energy consumption costs for server cooling by between 80 percent and 97 percent. The hot water produced can be re-used for other purposes including central heating.

The company designed and built the new server, working in partnership with a team of researchers led by Dr Jon Summers from the University of Leeds’ School of Mechanical Engineering.

Iceotope says that, because all the electronics are encapsulated in a sealed unit containing 3M’s dielectric coolant Novec as the inert coolant, it reduces the power consumed at a server level by eliminating the need for any fans. While the idea of immersing electronics in any liquid may seem strange, Novec can be in direct contact with electronics because it does not conduct electricity.

The Novec bath rapidly convects heat away from the electronics and then transfers it to water contained in a sealed low-pressure, gravity-fed subsystem. The water can then be passively cooled or used to provide hot water for other buildings, facilities or office spaces.

Liquid cooling is gaining traction in the industry. Last September, for example, Intel gave its blessing to the concept, after it approved the idea of a rival system from Green Revolution Cooling (GRC), after a one year trial.

Google also uses liquid cooling in its data centres, and Sun founder Scott McNeally has backed another immersion advocate LiquidCool (formerly Hardcore Computing).


http://www.channelbiz.co.uk/2013/03/01/leeds-university-tests-uk-company-iceotopes-liquid-cooled-servers/

Liquid cooled server could slash cooling costs by 97%


While the cooling of servers is traditionally done using fans and air conditioning units, all of the components in the new server are completely immersed in a non-flammable liquid coolant called 3M Novec. 
University of Leeds spinoff Iceotope has developed a liquid cooled computer server that it claims could cut cooling costs by 97% and compute power load by 20%.

This eliminates the need for noisy fans required by traditional computers and the server does not require an elaborate pump to move the coolant over its components. 

Instead, a simple low energy pump, located at the bottom of the cabinet, pumps a secondary coolant (water) to the top where it cascades down throughout all 48 modules due to gravity. 

The secondary coolant terminates at heat exchangers within the cabinet for transfer of heat to a third and final coolant, on an external loop, taking the heat away for external cooling or reuse. 

Because of the high cooling efficiency of the system, the output water can reach temperatures of up to 50°C, which can be used for heating and other uses. 

The Iceotope system uses just 80W of power to harvest the heat from up to 20kilowatts of use. The server also does away with the need for ancillary data centre facilities such as computer room air conditioning units, humidity control systems and air purification. 

Peter Hopton, Iceotope's cto and originator of the Iceotope concept, said: "More than five years of research, innovation and collaboration have gone into Iceotope's technology. 

"The basic principle of the design has many applications and, 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."

http://www.newelectronics.co.uk/electronics-news/liquid-cooled-server-could-slash-cooling-costs-by-97/48250/