IIT-B Researchers Assess Feasibility Of DSWC Systems For Cooling Data Centres

Amid rapid expansion of data centres driven by growing demand for digital services, researchers at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay on Friday said they have come up with a new methodology to assess the feasibility of Deep Seawater Cooling (DSWC) systems.

- Press Trust Of India

Researchers from IIT Bombay, under the guidance of Prof Gurubalan Annadurai, have unveiled a comprehensive methodology to assess the feasibility of DSWC systems, presenting an alternative to conventional, energy-intensive cooling methods.

"As the planet warms and our digital footprint expands, finding energy-efficient and sustainable cooling solutions is a critical necessity. In DSWC systems, cold water from deep ocean layers is transported through long pipelines to land-based facilities," said Dr Kashish Kumar, a postdoctoral fellow at IIT Bombay and the lead author of the study.

The new study presents a framework that enables the precise calculation of the resources required and the payback period on investments, while implementing a DSWC system based on the prescribed methodology.

According to the International Energy Agency, data centres accounted for approximately 1-1.13 per cent of global electricity consumption in 2022, a figure projected to rise significantly in the coming years, the report stated.