A project of the start-up XCCES GmbH
Innovative solder-based solution for resource-efficient server systems
The project aims to research and test an innovative and comprehensive solution for the hot water cooling of server systems in data centers. The aim is to reduce the energy requirements of the cooling circuit and maximize resource efficiency. The project aims to reduce the energy consumption of data centers and improve the ecological balance of information and communication technology.
Measures to save resources
Various measures are being taken within the project to reduce energy consumption and environmental impact. These include optimizing manufacturing processes and material selection about sustainability and environmental compatibility. Using hot water cooling instead of air-based cooling reduces energy consumption at the server level.
The increased service life of the IT components and the potential for waste heat recovery improve the overall efficiency of the data centers. The presumably increased energy consumption during the production and separation of the solder connection is taken into account. The CO2 savings potential along the product life cycle is determined using a life cycle assessment.
Efficient heat dissipation and stability in the server system water cooling
Previous water cooling solutions used thermal paste and placed the cooling unit on the CPU. The innovation of the project is the use of soldering technology to connect the water cooling directly to highly stressed server components such as GPU, CPU, power supply units, and RAM, which can raise the cooling water temperature by up to 6.5°C compared to conventional thermal paste without restricting the performance of the IT components. The solution offers considerable advantages in terms of stability, service life, and efficiency. The developed solder joint is characterized by homogeneity over the entire contact surface and enables full-surface contact even on uneven joining surfaces. This reduces thermal resistance compared to conventional joining methods, resulting in efficient heat dissipation and uniform cooling. This ensures efficient operation of the components to be cooled and, at the same time, improves the use of hot water for district heating.
Sustainable dissemination and further development of water-cooling technology
Once the project has been completed, several steps are planned to develop further and market the water cooling technology developed. Firstly, the possibility of founding another start-up or SME that produces the water cooling units and sells them on the market is being considered. By selling to leading customers in the data center industry, the aim is to achieve broad acceptance and use of the technology. In addition, the option of licensing the technology to interested third parties is being examined to promote its dissemination. At the same time, research is being continued to explore the potential applications of water-cooling technology in other areas. The aim is to improve further the sustainability and efficiency of cooling IT components and to achieve a positive impact on energy consumption and environmental impact.
Project Partners:
Dr. Jan Dolkemeyer, XCCES GmbH
Fraunhofer Institute for Reliability and Microintegration IZM
Project period:
Start: January 2, 2024, end: January 2, 2025