Indian IT services major Infosys announced in an exchange filing that it has partnered with energy company Shell to accelerate the adoption of immersion cooling services for data centres.
As per the company’s announcement, the IT services major and the energy company will bring together their capabilities in digital and energy, respectively, along with an ecosystem of partners to create an integrated offering for green data centres.
Infosys EVP and Global Head - Sustainability, Services, Utilities, Resources and Energy, Ashiss Kumar Dash, said, "In our joint efforts with Shell, we aim to create a more sustainable future. This collaboration will leverage AI-based digital solutions that will create environmentally responsible data centres that can manage high computing loads with optimised hardware.”
It is worth noting that as per recent industry estimates, data centers are responsible for up to 1.5 per cent of global electricity consumption and 1 per cent of global CO2 emissions. AI is expected to accelerate data center demand and AI workloads will significantly increase both energy consumption and CO2 emissions.
Aysun Akik, VP New Business Development and Global Key Accounts Downstream & Renewables at Shell Lubricants, said, “We believe our immersion cooling technology can play a critical role in reducing data center energy use and helping customers to deliver 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 data center operations as part of an integrated solution. Working with Infosys to supplement our technology with digital solutions would bring complete data center optimization toolkits to customers, and we are excited about the prospect of helping them decarbonize,” he added.
Interestingly, Infosys claimed that it had turned carbon-neutral in 2020, 30 years ahead of the timeline set by the Paris Agreement.
Immersion cooling technology claims to potentially show up to 30 per cent lower CO2 emissions and 48 per cent reduction in energy footprint production. Shell and Infosys will test this, leveraging both Shell’s immersion cooling and Infosys’ digital solutions. Following the pilot at Shell’s and Infosys' data centers, the companies intend to extend the offer to other customers globally.
