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Intel Corp. has certified Shell Plc’s lubricant-based method for cooling servers more efficiently within data centers used for artificial intelligence. The announcement on Tuesday, which follows the chipmaker’s two-year trial of the technology, offers a way to use less energy at artificial intelligence facilities, which are booming and are expected to double their electricity demand globally by 2030, consuming as much power then as all of Japan today, according to the International Energy Agency. So far, companies have largely used giant fans to reduce temperatures inside AI data centers, which generate more heat in order to run at a higher power. Increasingly, these fans consume electricity at a rate that rivals the computers themselves, something the facilities’ operators would prefer to avoid, Intel Principal Engineer Samantha Yates said in an interview.
“Upgrading existing air-cooling methods with immersion fluids can reduce data center energy use by up to 48%, as well as help reduce capital and operating expenditure by up to 33%,” Global Executive Vice President of Shell Lubricants, Jason Wong, said in a written statement. The immersion cooling fluids are ready to deploy and Intel is “providing an immersion rider warranty on top of our standard warranty terms to say we believe in this so much that you will be successful,” Yates said. Shell’s technology is the first of its kind to receive official certification by a major chip manufacturer, the companies said.