Immersion cooling & advanced materials for heat recovery from data centers

Solutions developed

The MODERATOR project targets enhancing data center energy efficiency via an integrated system. It incorporates immersion cooling with advanced heat storage materials. Innovations include a custom immersion cooling setup for heat recovery, a waste heat recovery system utilizing phase change materials, a multilayer insulation system using recycled glass for thermal energy storage, and automated integration for direct use and long-term storage. The project employs modeling, simulation, and dissemination strategies to maximize technology utilization.

Main results

The major outcome of MODERATOR project will be the operation and demonstration of a fully automated integrated prototype combining a 40 kW data centre immersion cooling system and a 500 kWh TES for WHR (TRL8). Potential utilization options of the stored thermal energy (i.e. space heating and electricity generation) will also be demonstrated within the project. The successful implementation of the MODERATOR project will have multiple impacts on different sectors. To accomplish all these results, the MODERATOR project will build upon the wide expertise of its 11 partners. In particular, the consortium consists of 3 research organizations and 8 SMEs with experience on various research and technological areas including materials science, systems design, process engineering, systems operation, modeling and simulation, technoeconomic, environmental and socioeconomic assessment, roadmap design, dissemination and communication, etc.