Nature: How to stop data centres from gobbling up the world’s electricity

Publish By: frank | Date: 2018-12-11 | Posted in: Industry News
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In this article from Nature, the ICT industry is climbing up rapidly with the energy consumption.
“one of the most worrying models predicts that electricity use by ICT could exceed 20% of the global total by the time a child born today reaches her teens, with data centres using more than one-third of that (see ‘Energy forecast’)”.

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Turning to hyperscale architecture, and running with hot and cold of optimized cooling solution, are reducing the power usage quite effectively in the past years. But there are still some more possibilities for us to do further:

  1. Better cooling solutions for hot area regions.
    – “Exploring innovative cooling solutions and making existing ones cheaper will become more important in coming years, says Carter. “As we connect the world, there’s areas that won’t be able to use free air cooling,” he notes, pointing to Africa and southern Asia.”
  2. Making free cooling solution for smaller edge sites which will be important for the coming AI applications.
    – “And other developments will tax IT infrastructure in new ways. If self-driving cars flood onto the roads, for example, small server installations at the base of mobile-phone towers, used to help those cars communicate and process data, will need high-power devices that can handle real-time AI workloads — and better cooling options. This year, the Open Compute Project launched a project on advanced cooling, with the aim of making efficient cooling systems more accessible. “The hyperscalers have it figured out; they’re extremely efficient,” says Carter. “We’re trying to help the other guys.””
  3. Making good use of waste heat from servers.
    – “Hand-in-hand with better cooling is the idea of using the heat coming off the servers, thus saving electricity demand elsewhere. “It’s like a free resource,” says IBM researcher Patrick Ruch in Zurich. There are a few examples: the Condorcet data centre in Paris sends its waste heat directly into a neighbouring Climate Change Arboretum, where scientists study the impacts of high temperatures on vegetation. An IBM data centre in Switzerland warms a nearby swimming pool. But heat doesn’t travel well, so waste-heat use tends to be limited to data centres located next to a convenient customer, or in a city that already uses piped hot water to heat homes. A scattering of players are aiming to make waste heat more generally usable, including preliminary efforts to turn it into electricity. Others aim to use the waste heat to run cooling devices — IBM’s US$2-million project THRIVE, for instance, is developing new materials that can better soak up water vapour and release it when exposed to heat, to make more efficient ‘sorption heat pumps’ to keep data centres cool.”

Check more here from Nature website.

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    Data Center Solution Sales Manager

    About Attom Technology

    We are a global leader in critical data center infrastructure, specializing in high-density AI data center thermal management and liquid cooling solutions. As AI workloads drive unprecedented demand for advanced cooling, we are rapidly expanding our footprint in North America. We are looking for visionary, driven, and highly technical professionals to join our newly established Silicon Valley team to drive the future of sustainable, high-performance data centers.
    Backed by the industrial giant Han’s Laser — a globally recognized leader in smart manufacturing and automation equipment — Attom Technology leverages a world-class industrial platform and robust financial strength to deliver critical data center infrastructure.

    Location: Silicon Valley, CA (Hybrid/On-site)

    Position Summary:

    We are looking for a highly motivated Sales Manager to drive revenue growth in the North American market. You will be on the front lines, targeting enterprise data centers, AI startups, and regional colocation facilities, selling our cutting-edge liquid cooling infrastructure portfolio.

    Key Responsibilities:

    • Achieve and exceed regional sales targets for our liquid cooling and thermal management products.

    • Manage the full sales cycle from prospecting and lead generation to contract negotiation and closing.

    • Develop and maintain strong, long-lasting direct relationships with data center facility managers, IT directors, and procurement teams.

    • Collaborate with the Product Technical Manager to deliver tailored presentations and proof-of-concept (PoC) proposals.

    • Maintain accurate sales forecasting and pipeline management using CRM tools (e.g., Zoho CRM).

    Qualifications:

    • 3+ years of direct B2B sales experience in data center power, cooling, or IT infrastructure.

    • Product Knowledge: Familiarity with selling cooling solutions such as CDU, CRAC, CRAH, RDHx, Cold-plate, and Chillers.

    • Industry Experience: Prior sales experience at companies like Vertiv, Schneider/APC, Eaton, Stulz, Airsys, or sales roles within the IT hardware sector (Cisco, Lenovo, Broadcom) with a focus on infrastructure.

    • Hunter mentality with a proven track record of breaking into new accounts and growing market share in the Silicon Valley tech ecosystem.

    • Strong presentation and closing skills.

    Application email: support@attom.tech

    Data Center Solution Technical Manager

    About Attom Technology

    We are a global leader in critical data center infrastructure, specializing in high-density AI data center thermal management and liquid cooling solutions. As AI workloads drive unprecedented demand for advanced cooling, we are rapidly expanding our footprint in North America. We are looking for visionary, driven, and highly technical professionals to join our newly established Silicon Valley team to drive the future of sustainable, high-performance data centers.
    Backed by the industrial giant Han’s Laser — a globally recognized leader in smart manufacturing and automation equipment — Attom Technology leverages a world-class industrial platform and robust financial strength to deliver critical data center infrastructure.

    Location: Silicon Valley, CA (Hybrid/On-site)

    Position Summary:

    The Product Technical Manager will act as the technical bridge between our North American clients and our global R&D team. You will be the resident expert on our liquid cooling portfolio, guiding customers through complex thermal system designs, and ensuring our products perfectly align with local compliance and technical requirements.

    Key Responsibilities:

    • Lead technical pre-sales engagements, providing expert consultation on liquid cooling architectures for high-density AI workloads.

    • Develop comprehensive technical proposals, system designs, and ROI analyses for clients involving CDU, RDHx, and direct-to-chip (Cold-plate) deployments.

    • Act as the Voice of the Customer (VoC) in North America, gathering detailed technical requirements and feeding them back to the R&D center to drive product localization and innovation.

    • Ensure products meet North American standards (e.g., UL, ASHRAE guidelines).

    • Provide training and technical support to the regional sales team and channel partners.

    Qualifications:

    • Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Mechanical Engineering, Thermodynamics, Electrical Engineering, or a related technical field.

    • 2+ years of experience in product management, technical pre-sales, or thermal engineering within the data center or IT hardware industry.

    • Technical Proficiency: Mastery in the design and application of CDU, CRAC, CRAH, RDHx, Cold-plate, and Chiller systems. (Familiarity with piping diagrams, valve configurations, and redundancy classifications is highly preferred).

    • Target Background: Previous roles at infrastructure leaders (Vertiv, nVent, Motivair, Schneider, Boyd, Stulz, etc.) or thermal engineering roles at major IT/Semiconductor companies (NVIDIA, AMD, Intel, Lenovo, etc.).

    • Ability to translate complex technical concepts into clear business value propositions.

    Application email: support@attom.tech

    Data Center Solution Business Development Director

    About Attom Technology

    We are a global leader in critical data center infrastructure, specializing in high-density AI data center thermal management and liquid cooling solutions. As AI workloads drive unprecedented demand for advanced cooling, we are rapidly expanding our footprint in North America. We are looking for visionary, driven, and highly technical professionals to join our newly established Silicon Valley team to drive the future of sustainable, high-performance data centers.
    Backed by the industrial giant Han’s Laser — a globally recognized leader in smart manufacturing and automation equipment — Attom Technology leverages a world-class industrial platform and robust financial strength to deliver critical data center infrastructure.

    Location: Silicon Valley, CA (Hybrid/On-site)

    Position Summary:
    We are seeking an experienced Business Development Director to spearhead our Go-To-Market (GTM) strategy for data center thermal management liquid cooling solutions in North America. You will be instrumental in building strategic partnerships with Hyperscalers, Colocation providers, and top-tier IT hardware manufacturers, establishing our brand presence, and identifying new market opportunities in the fast-growing AI data center ecosystem.

    Key Responsibilities:

    • Develop and execute a comprehensive North American business development strategy focused on high-density liquid cooling solutions.
    • Identify, negotiate, and close strategic partnerships with key players in the AI and data center ecosystem (e.g., server OEMs, AI chip developers).
    • Collaborate closely with the global HQ to align product roadmaps with North American market trends and client demands.
    • Represent the company at industry events (e.g., Data Center World, OCP, DCD) to build brand awareness and thought leadership.
    • Build and manage a robust pipeline of high-level strategic opportunities.

    Qualifications:

    • 5+ years of business development or strategic sales experience in the data center infrastructure or IT thermal management sector.
    • Industry Background: Proven track record at leading thermal management companies (e.g., Vertiv, nVent, Motivair, Schneider/APC, Boyd, Eaton, Stulz, Airsys) OR IT hardware giants with a focus on thermal ecosystems (NVIDIA, AMD, Broadcom, Intel, Lenovo, Oracle, Cisco).
    • Technical Expertise: Deep commercial understanding of advanced cooling technologies including CDU, CRAC, CRAH, RDHx, Cold-plate, and Chillers.
    • Strong existing network with decision-makers at hyperscale cloud providers and colocation data centers in the Silicon Valley area.
    • Excellent communication, negotiation, and cross-cultural collaboration skills.

    Application email: support@attom.tech

    Request a Quote