NTT is launching two liquid cooling deployments in Japan to further the technology.
NTT Data is launching a demonstration data center to help verify the design and deployment of liquid systems, while NTT Communications is testing two-phase direct-to-chip cooling in an existing air-cooled facility.
NTT launches liquid cooling field trial facility
NTT Data this week said it would open a verification facility, known as Data Center Trial Field, in Noda City, Chiba Prefecture, later this month to promote the use of liquid cooling technology in data centers.
The space, located at the Hibiya General Equipment Technology Research Institute, will span 105 sqm and total 75kW at the time of opening.
NTT noted that despite the increased attention liquid cooling is getting, current liquid cooling technologies have different specifications for each manufacturer. This makes it “difficult to fully meet customer needs,” and results in a “lack of mutual understanding” between companies for safe construction and operation.
The field trial facility will provide an environment in which multiple liquid cooling devices and servers can be operated simultaneously to enable companies to conduct joint verification efforts.
Engineering firm Hibiya Engineering and cooling firm Kuwana Metals are partners in the project.
NTT Data will provide liquid immersion cooling equipment, water-cooled racks, and servers, Hibiya Sogo Setsubi will build the verification facility, and Kuwana Kinzoku Kogyo will provide the chilled tower.
NTT said it will conduct verification of liquid cooling performance, operation, peripheral technologies, and solutions, including immersion cooling and water-cooled servers, at this facility. The company will also work with Hibiya General Equipment to resolve construction issues caused by differences in domestic and international standards for equipment piping, and develop dedicated parts.
“In addition to being able to operate liquid cooling technology in an environment that replicates a data center, this facility will also be able to verify the optimal chilled water temperature and flow rate to improve data center efficiency, check the suitability of monitoring systems, construction, and operations for introduction to existing data centers, and provide training for maintenance workers for the introduction of actual equipment,” the company said.
“In order to utilize the uniquely developed liquid cooling technology, this facility will be operated as a place where various players in the data center field, such as data center operators and equipment manufacturers, as well as IT vendors and research institutions, can gather and conduct joint verification to solve problems.”
NTT testing two-phase direct-to-chip cooling in air cooled data center
NTT is also testing out two-phase direct-to-chip cooling in air cooled data center in Tokyo.
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, NTT Communications Corporation (NTT Com), and NEC Networks & System Integration Corporation, will begin demonstration testing in December to increase the cooling capacity of data centers without major modifications to existing facilities.
This demonstration will implement the cooling of high-performance servers using two-phase direct chip cooling provided by Mitsubishi in an operational air-cooled data center located in Tokyo, operated by NTT Com.
In two-phase direct-to-chip cooling, an insulating refrigerant other than water is circulated in a two-phase (liquid/gas) manner to a cold plate on the processor inside the server for cooling.
NEC will work with Mitsubishi to build the IT equipment and demonstrate the server operation.
The test aims to demonstrate two-phase direct-to-chip cooling systems can be applied in conventional air-cooled data centers without major modifications to existing facilities.
Aiming to offer power savings and reduce the CO2 emissions of existing facilities, the demonstration is part of a project from the Tokyo Metropolitan Government’s Bureau of Industrial and Labor Affairs.
NTT Communications launched Green Nexcenter, a colocation service supporting direct-to-chip cooling, in October 2023. The company’s Yokohama 1 facility was the first site to offer the service.
