Microsoft is introducing a new type of data center that will not use water to cool chips and servers. Thus, the company wants to reduce the impact on the climate. This was reported by Bloomberg.
The new design will save more than 125 million liters of water used by each center annually. The new system operates on a "closed loop" principle: the liquid is added once during construction and is constantly circulated, eliminating the need for new supplies.
In the fiscal year ended June 30, 2023, Microsoft invested more than $50 billion in capital expenditures. The vast majority of these funds were spent on the construction of data centers, which was caused by the growing demand for artificial intelligence services.
The company intends to spend even more money this year. Many of the facilities are being built in hot, dry regions such as Arizona and Texas, which makes finding ways to save water even more important.
Microsoft's existing data centers will continue to use the old water cooling system. However, the new projects in Phoenix and Mount Pleasant, Wisconsin, will be operational in 2026.