Why Don't More Data Centers Use Liquid Nitrogen For Cooling?
In our technology-oriented world, data centers keep everything running. From cloud storage and websites to AI, both individual users and businesses rely on these facilities. However, all those computers generate a huge amount of heat. As servers get more powerful and packed much tighter together, overheating becomes a pressing issue. Cooling is among the biggest ongoing expenses due to electricity usage. Some estimates say that cooling can eat up to 40% of a data center's total power use. In one of the more innovative ways to fight this, Amazon is using reclaimed water to keep its data centers cool.
One solution that might seem like a no-brainer is liquid nitrogen. At -321 °F (-196 °C), liquid nitrogen can pack a huge amount of cooling power into a small space. Despite that, it's not something data centers use, and one of the main reasons is the cost. Any company looking to add liquid nitrogen to its existing data centers would have to change its whole infrastructure.
As for new construction, there's still the specialized training needed to work with cryogenic systems safely. Data centers would need special storage and dispensing gear, and that kind of equipment isn't cheap nor easy to use. Anyone operating liquid nitrogen equipment needs proper hands-on knowledge to keep things running smoothly and avoid accidents.
Liquid Nitrogen can serve as a backup
Still, that doesn't mean liquid nitrogen can't be useful. One place it could come in handy is as a backup for emergency cooling. Namely, when overheating happens or some systems fail, liquid nitrogen could be pumped straight into heat exchangers to cool things down quickly.
Even if the power goes out or the main cooling system stops working, liquid nitrogen cooling can still be applied. As such, it can keep temperatures steady long enough to shut things down properly or get systems back online.
While it remains far from widespread use, there have been recent developments. In mid-September, Utah-based company Reflect Scientific, which specializes in cryogenic cooling systems, announced that its liquid nitrogen cooling technology is ready for use in AI data centers. Either way, with the ever-growing reliance on data centers, the cooling technology is bound to move forward, and there have already been talks about data centers using nothing except their own heat for cooling.