Data centers are on track to consume 8 percent of global power by 2030. Impact Cooling has developed a direct-to-chip air cooling solution that can reduce data center power consumption by more than 33 percent without the use of water. This translates to more than 2 percent of world energy savings.
FELLOWS
David Hobby
David Hobby recently earned a Ph.D. in mechanical engineering from Colorado State University, where he developed a passion for sustainable cooling technologies while working on a variety of thermal systems. As co-founder of Impact Cooling, Hobby hopes to dramatically reduce the energy consumption and carbon footprint of data centers around the world through improved server cooling technologies.
Zach Gilvey
Zach Gilvey received his master’s in mechanical engineering from Colorado State University, where he worked on a number of thermal fluidic projects focusing on improving efficiencies. As an environmentalist dedicated to achieving carbon neutrality, Gilvey co-founded Impact Cooling in order to save water and electricity for those who need them most.
TECHNOLOGY
Critical Need
Data center efficiency gains have stalled over the past decade. Meanwhile, data centers are on track to consume 8 percent of global electricity by 2030. Approximately one third of that energy is wasted on cooling server equipment rather than used for actual computations. Liquid cooling solutions have seen limited adoption, making better segregation of hot and cold air the primary mover for data center efficiency. The industry is desperate for new and innovative cooling solutions that can dramatically reduce data center energy consumption while being more readily adoptable by the market.
Technology Vision
Enabled by recent advancements in additive manufacturing, Impact Cooling aims to revolutionize the data center cooling industry through its low-cost, high-efficiency microchip cooling technology. Impact Cooling has developed a novel cooling technique using 3D-printed micro-scale impinging jets to rapidly strip heat away from microchip devices. This technology delivers targeted air cooling directly to each chip in a server system. This improved cooling at the chip allows data centers to eliminate air conditioning while still keeping their servers cool.
Potential for Impact
Data centers are essential to modern life, running constantly behind the scenes to process mobile apps, websites, transactions, the Internet of Things, artificial intelligence, and more. If implemented globally, the Impact Cooling solution will reduce data center power consumption by approximately one third, resulting in more than 2 percent of global electricity savings. It will also reduce water consumption, another resource-intensive aspect of server cooling. By requiring no water, the Impact Cooling solution will save billions of gallons of water each year.
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Impact Cooling