Infosys and Shell collaborate on push to accelerate adoption of immersion cooling in datacentres

Global IT consultancy Infosys is joining forces with energy giant Shell on a project that is geared towards accelerating the adoption of immersion cooling technologies in datacentres.

The collaboration will see the pair combine their respective expertise in IT and energy and work with an ecosystem of partner to create an integrated immersion cooling system to help datacentre operators run their sites more sustainably.

Shell has developed its own synthetic, single-phase immersion cooling fluid that will be used in the project, which it claims will help to bolster the energy efficiency and performance of datacentres, particularly when combined with Infosys’ own generative artificial intelligence (AI) offerings.

Immersion cooling typically involves submerging datacentre kit in thermally conductive, dielectric liquids to help lower its temperature and Shell is not the first energy firm to turn its attention to popularising the use of the concept in datacentres.

As previously reported by Computer Weekly, BP-owned lubricant brand Castrol announced a partnership with immersion cooling manufacturer Submer in June 2022, with the pair talking up the potential for the technology to significantly reduce the amount of power needed to operate and cool datacentre servers.

In the Shell-Infosys project, the pair have committed to piloting the immersion cooling setup within their own datacentres to start with, before extending the use of it to other customers around the world.

Ashiss Kumar Dash, executive vice-president and global head of sustainability, services, utilities, resources and energy at Infosys, said the two companies are both committed to working towards creating technology offerings that will help the globe work towards achieving a more sustainable future.

“This collaboration will leverage AI-based digital solutions that will create environmentally responsible datacentres that can manage high computing loads with optimised hardware,” said Dash.

“It is also critical that future digital and physical solutions are created with a view to make AI more sustainable and scalable. This collaboration exemplifies our unwavering commitment to helping organisations achieve their sustainability goals while optimising operational efficiency.”

Aysun Akik, vice-president of new business development and global key accounts downstream and renewables at Shell Lubricants, said the company is confident that its immersion cooling technology will play a “critical role” in helping its customers reduce the energy usage of their datacentres while delivering on their sustainability commitments.

“Based on Shell’s proprietary gas-to-liquids [GTL] technology, Shell Immersion Cooling Fluids can help cut costs, boost performance and reduce the environmental footprint of datacentre operations as part of an integrated solution,” said Akik.

“Working with Infosys to supplement our technology with digital solutions would bring complete datacentre optimisation toolkits to customers, and we are excited about the prospect of helping them decarbonise.”