Nvidia wants to cut data center water use, but that’s not the same as fixing AI’s water problem

Nvidia simply introduced a warm-water cooling system that it says can dramatically cut back the quantity of water a knowledge middle makes use of — eliminating “just about all water utilization” inside the information middle, in accordance with an Nvidia government in a press launch.  

“The water consumption problem for information facilities is basically solved,” Josh Parker, chief sustainability officer at Nvidia, lately informed Axios.

However that’s solely a part of the water story. So long as AI information facilities run on fossil fuels — a alternative tech corporations are more and more making — the financial savings cease on the information middle’s partitions.

The core subject is how Nvidia measures information middle water use. In line with its weblog publish, the corporate basically attracts a line across the information middle. Something inside will get counted, and something outdoors will get ignored.

To be honest, Nvidia’s system does seem to ship on its facility-level promise — the coolant runs in a closed loop, stuffed as soon as and recirculated for the lifetime of the ability, that means no new water is consumed to chill the chips. In favorable climates, the corporate says, that may quantity to a 100% discount in on-site water use.

Trendster has requested Nvidia to make clear the matter, and we’ll replace this text if we obtain a reply.

The issue is, water use outdoors of the information middle — primarily in electrical energy era and chip manufacturing — can double or triple the full water footprint of a facility. Which means Nvidia’s resolution addresses a couple of quarter to a 3rd of AI information facilities’ complete water consumption. 

The brand new system is intelligent, pumping coolant into racks at 45°C (113°F). That’s scorching for people however not for pc chips. After passing by a server, the coolant emerges at 55°C (131°F), Nvidia stated, bringing a major quantity of warmth away from the {hardware}. 

At that temperature, the skin air in most climates can draw warmth off passive radiators with out evaporative cooling or, in some instances, followers. An information middle with out followers or chillers wouldn’t solely use much less water, however it might even be extra environment friendly and quieter. 

However no information middle can function with out an electrical energy provide, and lots of sorts of energy vegetation are themselves main water shoppers.

Fossil gasoline energy vegetation are one of many largest water customers within the U.S., consuming 2.7 billion gallons per day, in accordance with the U.S. Geological Survey — most of it for evaporative cooling. Pure gasoline energy vegetation use 1.17 liters of water for each kilowatt-hour of electrical energy they generate, in accordance with a latest research. Coal vegetation are much more water-intensive, utilizing 2.2 liters per kilowatt-hour. Fossil gasoline energy vegetation collectively generate about half of all information middle energy in the present day, in accordance with the IEA.

Hydropower dams, which provide round 10% of knowledge middle energy, don’t devour water in the identical direct manner, however evaporation from their reservoirs quantities to six.8 liters misplaced per kilowatt-hour generated. Geothermal, a supply that tech corporations are beginning to discover, varies broadly — it may be increased or decrease relying on the particular expertise. Some enhanced geothermal startups, like Fervo, have pledged to make use of largely “degraded” water that will in any other case go unused.

Wind and solar energy, however, use vanishingly small quantities of water, about 0.01 liters and 0.03 liters per kilowatt-hour, respectively — figures that embrace the water wanted for manufacturing and cleansing photo voltaic panels. 

Whereas renewables are offering a rising share of recent electrical energy capability, pure gasoline and coal are anticipated to offer greater than 40% of recent electrical energy wanted to fulfill information middle demand by 2030, the IEA tasks. With out main modifications to that trajectory, information facilities will nonetheless devour giant quantities of water, no matter what Nvidia does inside its partitions.