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DELTALIS Innovation Lab revolutionizes IT cooling

DELTALIS Innovation Lab, which opened in November, is located in a former Swiss air force bunker. Three IT companies are working together there on highly efficient heat management for computer modules.

Deltalis
Image Credit: Deltalis

DELTALIS Innovation Lab is developing a submerged cooling system that combines “the highest energy efficiency with greater performance while at the same time saving space,” according to a statement from 3M.

The multinational technology group is one of three companies pooling together their expertise in the new innovation laboratory in the Greater Zurich Area. The new cooling technology uses 3M’s Novec high-tech fluids. DELTALIS is providing its highly secure data centre in a former bunker in a mountain massif in the canton of Uri and also serves as the innovation laboratory’s operator. The trio is completed by dehmel 2phIC technologies, which is also based in Uri. 

In the innovative cooling technology, server modules are hung next to each other in the coolant like free-hanging boards. This allows the modules to be packed together far more tightly than in conventional hardware structures. As no waste heat is released into the room, external air-conditioning units are not required. 

3M’s Novec high-tech fluids distribute the waste heat better and also dissipate it faster than conventional air-conditioning systems. The new technology also stands out for using 90 per cent less energy and requiring 60 to 75 per cent less space. The coolants are non-conductive, non-combustible and completely harmless to most materials used in the electronics industry. According to 3M, the project is “well beyond laboratory status”, and the first customer application is expected to go into operation shortly.

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