HPE, Danfoss Partner To Curb Data Centre Energy Consumption, Reuse Excess Heat

Hewlett Packard Enterprise and Danfoss have announced their collaboration to deliver HPE IT Sustainability Services—Data Centre Heat Recovery, a module aimed at helping organisations manage and value excess heat as they transition towards more sustainable IT facilities.

The rapid integration of artificial intelligence technologies across organisations is expected to have an increase in the power demand and utilisation of AI-optimised IT infrastructure. According to the International Energy Agency, by 2026, the AI industry is expected to have grown to consume at least ten times its electricity demand in 2023.

To mitigate these challenges, IT leaders and data centre facility operators are taking action to reduce energy usage, such as implementing modern power-efficient capabilities and improved cooling systems. The flow of excess heat from data centres is uninterruptible and therefore, constitutes a very reliable source of clean energy.

To address these issues, the solution from the two companies offers HPE’s scalable Modular Data Centre, in the form of small footprint, high-density (kW/rack) containers, which can be deployed in the total absence of heavy industry and incorporates technologies such as direct liquid cooling, reducing overall energy consumption by 20%.

Danfoss’ solutions include heat reuse modules that capture excess heat from data centres to provide renewable heating onsite and to neighbouring buildings and industries for various applications, and Turbocor oil-free compressors that enhance data centre cooling efficiency.

“Our strategic partnership with HPE is a great example of how we revolutionise building and decarbonising the data centre industry together with customers,” said Jürgen Fischer, president, Danfoss Climate Solutions.

HPE’s MDC incorporates direct liquid cooling technologies to enhance energy efficiency and optimise energy production and distribution, leading to energy savings. The design’s compactness minimises energy loss and maximises the temperature differential at the inlet and outlet, which promotes the capture of excess heat.

According to HPE, the MDC’s agility and the exclusion of heavy industrial materials negate the need for costly, conventional building materials and reduce the time to market. Deployment can be achieved quicker than with traditional data centres. Also, the reduced land footprint and flexibility of the MDCs allow for placement in proximity to data generation sites, which diminishes the energy impact and bottlenecks associated with complex networking solutions and data transfer, while supporting enhanced data governance and security.

“Our partnership with Danfoss brings together HPE’s innovative modular data centre with Danfoss’ groundbreaking heat reuse technology. Together, we are not just adding value; we are multiplying it,” said Sue Preston, vice president and general manager, HPE.