Microsoft's Zero-Water Cooling for Data Centres

Water is a precious resource, and its use in data centres is substantial.

Each hyperscale facility can utilise up to 1.5 million litres per day primarily for cooling and humidification.

As the demand for AI services increases, so does the need for more powerful data centres, which in turn boosts water usage.

This burgeoning situation is placing considerable pressure on regions already grappling with water scarcity.

In areas like Maricopa County, Arizona — the heartland of one of the largest data centre hubs — the conflict over water resources is intense.

The local community and environmental organisations are increasingly challenging the hefty water consumption by the technology sector, especially during drought periods.

Addressing these concerns, Microsoft is taking a bold step.

From August 2024, all new Microsoft data centres will feature revolutionary water-free cooling technologies specifically designed for high-density AI workloads.

Revolutionising data centre cooling

Microsoft's innovative approach eradicates the need for water evaporation in cooling processes by introducing chip-level cooling solutions.

This technology leverages a closed-loop system that ensures precise temperature regulation, reducing annual water consumption by 125 million litres per facility.

Steve Solomon, Vice President of Data Centre Infrastructure Engineering at Microsoft, says: “These new liquid cooling technologies recycle water through a closed loop.

"Once the system is filled during construction, it will continually circulate water between the servers and chillers to dissipate heat without requiring a fresh water supply.”

The initiative forms part of Microsoft's Data Centre Community Pledge, which outlines the company's commitment to local economies and communities where it operates facilities.

Steve emphasises that “protecting local watersheds is an important part of this pledge — especially in areas where water stress is growing”.

Metrics and efficiency: Microsoft’s strategy for sustainability

Microsoft measures its water efficiency using the Water Usage Effectiveness (WUE) metric, which evaluates the water used for cooling relative to the energy consumed by IT equipment.

In 2024, Microsoft achieved an impressive WUE of 0.30L/kWh, demonstrating a significant decrease from 0.49L/kWh in the previous period.

These efficiency gains stem from various operational enhancements, such as broadening the temperature ranges and incorporating alternate water sources.

Implementation of reclaimed and recycled water systems is now commonplace across their facilities in Texas, Washington, California and Singapore.

“We have been working since the early 2000s to reduce water use and improved our WUE by 80% since our first generation of data centres,” Steve notes. “As water challenges grow more extreme, we know we have more work to do.”

Innovative cooling technologies

Shifting from traditional evaporative cooling methods to more sustainable mechanical systems impacts the Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE), another vital efficiency metric for data centres.

Microsoft's new cooling solutions allow higher operational temperatures, thus enabling more efficient chiller use and only a slight uptick in energy consumption.

Steve outlines the vision for the future: "Starting in August 2024, all new Microsoft data centre designs will incorporate our advanced cooling technologies, setting a course towards making zero-water evaporation our standard cooling method across our data centres.

"These installations will gradually commence operations starting in late 2027."

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