IDED (formerly SDIA) participates in ECO-Qube, an EU-funded Horizon 2020 research project. Objective: Enhance the energy efficiency of existing air-cooled data centers through precise measurements, flow models, and machine optimization.

Many new cooling and efficiency technologies—adiabatic cooling, liquid cooling, immersion cooling—are making newly built data centers significantly more efficient. However, existing facilities are often overlooked. Existing data centers typically operate at an IT load of only 15%—while the cooling and electrical infrastructure runs almost at full capacity, regardless of the actual IT load.

ECO-Qube aims to change this: The consortium connects buildings, electrical systems, and IT workloads for the first time, to adjust resource consumption to the actual IT capacity. Three pilot sites will be equipped with ECO-Qube sensors, flow models will be developed for each site, and machine-based optimization strategies will be tested. The project also explores the integration of renewable energy and the use of waste heat.

IDED takes on the role of dissemination in the consortium—spreading the project's results and progress. More information: ecoqube.org

Consortium

• LANDE — Data center hardware and infrastructure solutions

• Veolia — Building management and energy services

• Vattenfall — Energy supply and renewable energy

• Helio — Flow simulation and fluid dynamics

• ENDOKS — Building automation technology

• DSTech — Data center technology

• R2M Solutions Spain — Energy efficiency and sustainability consulting

• EMPA — Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology

• Green IT Amsterdam — Sustainability in digital infrastructure

• Luleå University of Technology — Research and university partner

• IDED (formerly SDIA) — Dissemination and knowledge transfer