ST Engineering has announced its entry into the data centre cooling market with the launch of its new Airbitat DC Cooling System, an innovation created by its Urban Environment Solutions (UES) business. The Airbitat DC Cooling System delivers pre-cooling for data centres, which will be especially important given Singapore’s tropical climate.
According to a press release by ST Engineering, the Airbitat DC Cooling System can allow data centres to achieve annual net energy savings of more than 20% greater than conventional chiller systems, with annual energy savings of around $104 per kW of heat load.
Given the Singapore government’s stringent criteria for data centre operations and emphasis on sustainability following the lifting of the data centre moratorium in Singapore, ST Engineering’s latest innovation will be welcomed by data centre operators in the region.
“Tipping Point” for Data Centre Industry
Gareth Tang, Head of Urban Environment Solutions at ST Engineering, observed that “with the exponential growth in compute-intensive applications and increasing data needs, the data centre industry is fast reaching its sustainability tipping point.”
Notably, with Singapore’s aspirations to be a Smart Nation and competitive tech hub, demand for data centre services will increase, instead of decreasing. Hence, the government and data centre operators are concerned about achieving sustainability targets by lowering emissions and energy wastage from data centre operations.
ST Engineering’s Airbitat DC Cooling System enables data centres to reach a targeted Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE) below 1.3, reaching qualifying criteria for new data centre projects set by the Singapore government which will be implemented during a pilot phase beginning in Q2/Q3 of 2022. In addition, the Airbitat DC Cooling System is also supported by UES’ live system data and its patented evaporative cooling technology. According to ST Engineering, the Airbitat DC Cooling System can operate under varied climate conditions, ranging from hot and humid, to hot and dry environments, with smart controls that detect ambient conditions and adjust cooling modes accordingly for energy-efficient cooling.
Tang affirmed that “through re-engineering our established Airbitat solution for the data centre environment, we have successfully developed a sustainable solution that significantly cuts energy consumption while reducing carbon intensity and Urban Heat Island Effect. Its ability to be readily deployed in existing data centres presents an attractive option for operators who are looking for cost-effective solutions to lower energy consumption and achieve their sustainability targets.”
“We believe that the Airbitat DC Cooling System can help the industry address its most critical challenge today and support its growth in a more sustainable manner.”
“Hyperscale Innovation (Power and Cooling)” is an awards category for this year’s W.Media Asia-Pacific Cloud & Datacenter Awards. Thinking of nominating or sponsoring? Visit our Awards Page for more information. Nominations are open until 31st July.
