SK telecom verifies cooling technology for heat management

[Courtesy of SK telecom]

South Korea’s leading mobile carrier SK telecom Co. announced Tuesday that it has successfully verified its immersion cooling technology for next-generation internet data center thermal management.

Immersion cooling manages heat by immersing servers in special cooling oil that is not electrified. It reduces power consumption by eliminating the need for server blowers and keeps the overall temperature of the system stable without having to worry about humidity, dust, or noise, the company said.

SK telecom built the system at its Incheon office in Namdong District with equipment from Green Revolution Cooling Inc., a Texas-based company specializing in immersion cooling, special cooling oil from SK enmove Co., and servers made by various manufacturers, and tested the equipment for four months starting in June.

As a result, the company reduced about 93 percent of cooling power and more than 10 percent of server power compared to conventional air cooling, saving 37 percent of total power usage.

Immersion cooling system [Courtesy of SK telecom]

SK telecom plans to build a dedicated data center for its artificial intelligence (AI) services in Incheon in November and apply the liquid cooling system there next year.

It also plans to combine its data center monitoring solution with SK enmove’s thermal management business to make advances into the immersion cooling business.

According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), the global data center power consumption stood at 240 to 340 terawatt-hour last year, which is 42 to 60 percent of Korea’s annual power consumption.

In particular, the increased introduction of graphics processing unit (GPU) servers triggered by the AI boom has raised concerns over server cooling problems.

“The introduction of liquid cooling is expected to reduce energy costs by a significant level,” said Cho Dong-hwan, chief information officer and vice president at SK telecom. “We will contribute to carbon neutrality through the widespread use of the technology.”