The use of advanced cooling systems is something that both Facebook and Google have invested in for years. For example, Google has developed ways to recirculate water several times through its cooling systems — a method that it says can save up to 50 percent of the water required.
One startup to benefit from the attention on data center water issues is LiquidStack, which recently raised $10 million in Series A funding from cloud service provider Wiwynn. The company, which developed its technology in collaboration with one of the world’s largest bitcoin miners, provides two-phase direct immersion technology focused on handling the cooling needs of high-performance data centers. The electronics are directly submerged in dielectric fluids that are used in applications such as semiconductor fabrication or fire suppression. During the first phase, the heated fluid boils off and evaporates; it recondenses on a special coil during the second phase and the resulting droplets help reject additional heat.