HILLSBORO, Ore. (AP) — Intel says it will build a $700 million research center in Hillsboro, Oregon, where the company will study new technologies for cooling data centers.
The California-based chip maker said Thursday he new “mega lab” will investigate ways to make data centers operate more efficiently, primarily by reducing their heating, cooling and water needs. The Oregonian/OregonLive reports 200,000-square-foot facility, slated to open late next year, will also provide space for Intel to test new data center technologies.
Also Thursday, Intel published a new design for “immersion liquid cooling” in data centers. The technology submerges computers into a special liquid that doesn’t conduct electricity but absorbs heat generated by the machines.
Researchers say data centers use about 4% of the world’s energy, a total that could grow to 10% as the industry expands. More than a third of that energy is used just to cool the high-performing computers with conventional air chillers.