Data centers are notorious energy guzzlers, with cooling systems accounting for a staggering 40% of their power consumption, according to McKinsey. As the demand for data center capacity surges, tech companies are scrambling to find ways to trim their electricity bills. One startup, Nexalus, is tackling this challenge head-on with its innovative liquid cooling system, which not only reduces energy consumption but also produces waste heat that can be repurposed for other industries.

Nexalus's approach is centered around direct-to-chip liquid cooling, where a heat sink is plumbed to facilitate the flow of coolant directly to the CPU or GPU. This design eschews small channels in favor of microjets that direct the liquid to the hottest spots on the chip, allowing the system to run at lower pressure. The company's CTO, Tony Robinson, explained that the microjets can be tailored to different chips, making the system highly adaptable.

The liquid cooling setup is then sealed within a standard 1U rack space, with fans cooling the server's other components and heat exchangers extracting heat from the air. The heated liquid, a mixture of water and propylene glycol, is pumped out of the case and cooled in a heat exchanger, which can either vent the heat to the air or redirect it to another loop connected to a building or industrial user. This closed-loop system enables more servers to be packed into a data center, reducing real estate and construction costs while also minimizing water usage.

The real innovation, however, lies in Nexalus's vision for reusing the waste heat generated by its liquid cooling system. Rather than venting it to the air, the company believes it can be sold to industrial users, such as food manufacturers, or used to offset utility bills. "We're not saying we give people power, but we open up more power," said Ken O'Mahoney, Nexalus's co-founder and CEO. "If a house that gets hot water from us is not using the electrical system to heat their water, the grid itself now has more power to distribute."

O'Mahoney estimates that Nexalus's system can cut electricity consumption by 35%. The company is working with Munters, a leading data center HVAC systems manufacturer, to integrate its liquid cooling solution with existing infrastructure. Additionally, Nexalus has partnered with Dell and HPE to ensure its systems are drop-in replacements for air cooling, and can be sold directly or through integration partners.

The potential applications of Nexalus's technology are vast. O'Mahoney envisions smaller data centers in urban areas tapping into district heating schemes, while larger operators might partner with industrial companies to reuse waste heat. "It's hard to believe that, in time, with this amount of energy, that it won't make economic sense to build a district heating system to co-locate with food production or to capture carbon," said Robinson.

As the data center industry continues to grapple with its environmental footprint, innovative solutions like Nexalus's liquid cooling system offer a beacon of hope. By reducing energy consumption and repurposing waste heat, Nexalus is poised to make a significant impact on the sector's sustainability. With its sights set on disrupting the status quo, this Irish startup is one to watch in the years to come.