The digital backbone of China, its vast network of data centers, is facing an escalating challenge: managing the intense heat generated by rapidly expanding computing demands. Fueled by the surging growth in artificial intelligence (AI), 5G technology, and cloud computing, these facilities are pushing conventional cooling methods to their absolute limits, necessitating innovative and sustainable solutions.
Data centers are colossal supercomputers inherently prone to overheating, with a mere 10-degree Celsius increase in temperature capable of raising their failure rate by 50%. Keeping these critical infrastructures cool is not just an operational necessity but has become one of China’s most significant engineering hurdles.
The Heat Is On: Escalating Energy Demands and Cooling Burdens
China’s data center industry has experienced rapid growth, with the number of data center racks reaching 3.1 million by the end of 2019, growing 38% year-on-year. By the end of 2021, this figure climbed to 5.2 million racks, demonstrating a five-year compound annual growth rate of over 30%. This expansion directly translates to immense energy consumption. In 2020, China’s data centers consumed over 200 billion kWh, accounting for 2.7% of the nation’s total power consumption. Projections indicate this could rise to 400 TWh by 2030, representing 3.7% of total demand.
A significant portion of this energy, approximately 40% to 43%, is dedicated solely to cooling systems. This high energy consumption not only increases operational costs but also contributes substantially to carbon emissions, as China’s power mix still heavily relies on coal. For every 1 kilowatt of heat produced by IT equipment, around 1.5 kilowatts of electricity are needed for cooling.
The Limitations of Traditional Air Cooling
Traditional air-cooling systems, which have long been the standard, are struggling to meet the demands of modern high-density computing environments. As chip densities and computational workloads increase, the heat load from IT equipment rises steadily, pushing the capacity of air-based cooling to its limits. Furthermore, air-cooled data centers can be less energy-efficient, often having a Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE) value of no less than 1.7, indicating significant energy waste.
Adding to the complexity, the vast water requirements of data centers for cooling can exacerbate water stress in China’s already arid western and northern regions.
Pioneering Cooling Innovations: A Multi-pronged Approach
To address these critical challenges, China’s data center industry is actively exploring and deploying a range of cutting-edge cooling solutions, often driven by government policies and the urgent need for greater energy efficiency.
The Rise of Liquid Cooling Technology
Liquid cooling is emerging as a preferred solution due to its efficient heat dissipation and energy-saving characteristics. Unlike air cooling, liquid cooling directly transfers heat through liquid in contact with the heat source, eliminating the need for indirect air-based cooling. This technology is not new, having been used in aerospace for decades, but its adoption in data centers is rapidly accelerating.
Leading Chinese internet companies like Alibaba and Tencent are at the forefront of large-scale liquid cooling deployment. Alibaba, for instance, has implemented single-phase immersion liquid-cooling server solutions that can reduce energy consumption by over 35% compared to traditional air-cooled data centers of the same size. Their “soaking server” concept has reportedly reduced data center energy use by 70%. Tencent has also combined liquid cooling with micro-modules to address high-density computing needs and improve power utilization efficiency. The global market for liquid cooling systems in data centers is projected to grow significantly, reaching US$7.8 billion by 2027 from US$317 million currently.
Diving Deep: Underwater Data Centers
One of the most ambitious and innovative approaches China is pursuing is the development of commercial-scale underwater data centers (UDCs). Leveraging the naturally cold properties of seawater, these submerged facilities promise significant reductions in energy consumption and freshwater usage. Inspired by Microsoft’s Project Natick, which demonstrated an impressive PUE of 1.07 and an eightfold increase in server reliability, China is now deploying its own UDC projects off the coasts of Hainan and Shanghai.
The Hainan facility, the world’s first commercial-scale UDC operated by Highlander, is designed to save 122 million kWh of electricity and 105,000 tons of freshwater annually. An even larger project is planned for Shanghai, powered almost entirely by nearby offshore wind farms, enabling near-zero carbon emissions. Each underwater unit, weighing 1,300 tons, can provide computing power equivalent to 60,000 personal computers.
Strategic Relocation and “Green” Data Center Initiatives
Recognizing the geographical advantages, China is also implementing strategies like the “Eastern Data, Western Compute” (EDWC) initiative. This program aims to relocate data centers to colder, less humid western and northern regions of the country to leverage natural air cooling. For example, data centers in Xinjiang benefit from low humidity and an average temperature of 10°C, allowing for direct air cooling for a significant portion of the year. Similarly, Hohhot boasts data centers with PUEs as low as 1.29 due to favorable ambient temperatures.
The Chinese government is actively promoting “green” data centers through various policies and financial incentives. The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology’s “Three-Year Action Plan for New Data Center Development (2021–2023)” mandates that newly built large-scale data centers must achieve a PUE under 1.3, with a national goal of reducing the PUE of large data centers to 1.25 by 2025. By the end of 2024, over 50 data centers nationwide had already met a standard for “green” energy requirements.
The Path Forward: Sustainability and Efficiency
The challenge of cooling China’s burgeoning data center infrastructure is a complex one, deeply intertwined with national energy consumption and environmental goals. The concerted efforts towards liquid cooling, pioneering underwater data centers, and strategic geographical placement, coupled with strong government mandates for energy efficiency, underscore China’s commitment to building a more sustainable digital future. As AI and big data continue to drive unprecedented demand, these innovative cooling technologies will be crucial in managing the heat and ensuring the continued, efficient operation of China’s critical digital infrastructure.
