Hitachi Vantara deploys low-power cooling in Netherlands

Hitachi Vantara has deployed a large phase change material cooling system at a data centre in the Netherlands. The installation cuts the electricity needed for cooling and frees up more power for computing.

The system uses technology from Dutch thermal energy company Duraflow and is operating at one of Hitachi Vantara's facilities. It provides 240 kW of cooling across two 120 kW units while consuming 5 kW to 8 kW of electricity, compared with an estimated 60 kW to 80 kW for a conventional direct expansion system delivering the same output.

The announcement comes as data centre operators face tighter limits on access to electricity while demand for AI workloads rises. Cooling is also under greater scrutiny because thermal management can account for as much as 40% of a data centre's total energy use.

The system requires no water for cooling, which could be significant in markets where water use has become a source of local opposition to new data centre development.

Hitachi Vantara presented the project as a way to expand computing capacity within an existing power connection rather than seek additional grid supply. That approach is gaining attention as operators try to increase AI processing without expanding to new sites or waiting for more electrical capacity.

"This project started with a very practical challenge: how do we grow our computing capacity when access to additional electricity is limited," said Simon Ninan, Senior Vice President of Business Strategy, Hitachi Vantara.

"We realized that if we could dramatically reduce the amount of power required for thermal management, we could make more of our existing electrical capacity available for computing. By partnering with Duraflow, we are demonstrating how smarter energy management can become an important enabler of AI growth," Ninan said.

Operational test

Phase change material systems absorb thermal energy during periods of peak demand and release it later in a controlled way as demand falls. This reduces the need for continuous electrically driven refrigeration common in conventional cooling systems.

The Netherlands deployment is being presented as an operational example rather than a lab test. Duraflow said the project shows the technology can run in a live data centre environment where resilience is critical.

"Developing technology is one thing; proving that it can operate at this scale in a live, mission-critical environment is another," said Simon Loerakker, Chief Executive Officer, Duraflow.

"Our collaboration with Hitachi Vantara has allowed us to demonstrate the potential of innovation at an unprecedented scale. Together, we are showing that sustainable innovation and the growth of AI infrastructure can go hand in hand," Loerakker said.

Broader efficiency

The cooling project is part of a wider push by Hitachi Vantara to reduce the energy demands of infrastructure used for digital workloads. Its storage products include energy-saving features such as reduced CPU activity during quieter periods and data reduction tools intended to lower electricity use.

That broader focus reflects a shift in the data centre market, where operators are looking beyond processor performance and server density to the total amount of useful compute they can get from each megawatt of available power. In constrained regions, efficiency gains in cooling and storage can directly affect how much AI work can be supported.

Hitachi Vantara also linked the project to its target of becoming carbon neutral in Scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas emissions by FY2030. Reducing electricity used for thermal management supports that aim while helping it manage rising demand for high-density computing.

"Addressing the energy demands of AI isn't about optimizing one part of the business in isolation," said Courtney Hadden, Sustainability Director, Hitachi Digital.

"It's about working in concert across the organization and with innovative ecosystem partners to find efficiencies at every stage - from the products we build, how we bring them to market, and everything in between. The answer cannot simply be to consume more power. We need to become smarter about how we use the power we already have," Hadden said.