www. refrigerationandaircon. co. za RACA Journal I July 2025 7
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Notably, two-phase immersion showed promising potential for reductions in all key areas. However, it currently relies on liquid polyfluoroalkyl substances( PFAS), which are facing increasing regulatory scrutiny in regions like the European Union and the US due to environmental concerns, potentially hindering their future availability and aligning them poorly with pollution reduction goals. Microsoft has investigated immersion cooling technologies but is not currently deploying them in its data centre operations.
Teresa Nick, director, natural systems and sustainability for Cloud Operations and Innovation at Microsoft and a co-author of the Nature paper, noted the encouraging performance of cold plates.“ It was interesting to see that cold plates could be as good as the two immersion cooling methods,” she said.
The study also highlighted the complexities involved in selecting the optimal cooling method. While factors like total cost of ownership, availability, time to market and reliability are typically straightforward to quantify and compare, assessing sustainability impacts across an intricate supply chain and data centre ecosystem presents significant challenges.
Obtaining detailed information regarding the sourcing of raw materials and the associated carbon, water and energy inputs during manufacturing can be particularly difficult. The Microsoft researchers actively engaged with their suppliers to obtain this crucial data, although not all were able to participate. Consequently, the team developed formulas to enable them – and others in the industry – to estimate these figures in the future. Alissa emphasised the potential benefits of data sharing, stating,“ Having the embodied emissions known, public and shared in databases could help accelerate lifecycle assessment efforts.”
The application of lifecycle assessment extends beyond cooling technologies, offering valuable insights into optimising all facets of data centre structure and function for maximum efficiency. The study underscored that different cooling technologies exhibit varying strengths, with no single method consistently outperforming others across all environmental metrics.
As Nick summarised: " In a nutshell, we’ re trying to understand the trade-offs. You’ re trying to understand the context of what you’ re doing and what the impacts are.” This comprehensive research by Microsoft provides a crucial framework and valuable tools for the industry to make informed decisions towards a more sustainable future for data centre cooling.
SOURCE: Using life cycle assessment to drive innovation for sustainable cool clouds | Nature RACA
www. refrigerationandaircon. co. za RACA Journal I July 2025 7