Innovative Evaporative Cooling Technology Paves the Way for Sustainable Data Centres

Cooling Without the Cost Creates a New Frontier for Data Centres
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In the relentless pursuit of increased computing power to meet the demands of artificial intelligence, cloud platforms, and hyperscale data processing, one significant challenge remains: heat. This isn’t just ordinary warmth; it’s energy-consuming, performance-hindering heat. Fortunately, a team of engineers at the University of California, San Diego, may have discovered a solution for keeping data centres cool without incurring excessive costs or harming the environment. They have introduced a remarkably simple yet effective innovation: a specially engineered fibre membrane that passively dissipates heat through evaporation. This method requires no fans, no heat sinks, and no liquid pumps that consume electricity—just smart design doing the heavy lifting.

“Compared to traditional air or liquid cooling, evaporation can dissipate higher heat flux while using less energy,” stated Renkun Chen, a professor in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at UC San Diego. He led the project alongside colleagues Shengqiang Cai and Abhishek Saha.

### Cooling Is Killing the Grid

Data centres are notoriously energy-hungry. Current estimates reveal that cooling accounts for nearly 40% of a facility’s energy consumption. This inefficiency is not sustainable. As the global digital economy expands rapidly, the International Energy Agency warns that cooling demands could more than double by 2030 if no action is taken. This is where the innovative fibre membrane comes in. Designed with cost-effectiveness in mind, this unassuming layer of technology features a network of interconnected pores that draw liquid across its surface, promoting evaporation to effectively carry heat away—without requiring additional energy input.

### Simple Tech, Big Potential

So, how does this system work? The membrane is placed atop microchannels situated above high-powered electronics such as CPUs or GPUs. Cooling liquid flows through these channels and is drawn upward by the membrane’s pore structure. As the liquid evaporates, it effectively removes heat from the electronics beneath. This isn’t merely theoretical; the membrane has been rigorously tested across a range of heat fluxes and has achieved remarkable results, dissipating heat fluxes exceeding 800 watts per square centimetre—comparable to the best-performing evaporative systems documented.

Mechanical and aerospace engineering PhD student Tianshi Feng and postdoctoral researcher Yu Pei, both from Chen’s research group, contributed significantly to this study. Their hands-on efforts helped fine-tune the balance of pore size and structural integrity, overcoming common challenges like clogging, boiling, and thermal instability. “These fibre membranes were originally designed for filtration, and no one had previously explored their use in evaporation,” Chen explained. “We recognized their unique structural characteristics—interconnected pores and optimal pore size—could make them ideal for efficient evaporative cooling. What surprised us was that, with the right mechanical reinforcement, they not only withstood high heat flux—they performed exceptionally well under it.”

### A Turn Away From Water-Guzzling Cooling

Beyond its impressive technical metrics, this innovation could substantially reduce water consumption—a significant advantage since many current evaporative systems depend on large volumes of water. As climate change strains global water resources, minimizing reliance on water-intensive cooling technologies becomes essential. Additionally, there’s significant potential for edge computing and decentralized networks. Systems operating outside traditional air-conditioned server rooms—such as mobile base stations, industrial robotics, and remote data outposts—could greatly benefit from a low-power, low-maintenance cooling method.

### Commercialisation and Cold Plate Integration

While the current system is groundbreaking, the team at UC San Diego is not resting on their achievements. The technology is still performing well below its theoretical limit, leaving ample room for enhancement. Their next step involves integrating this membrane into prototype cold plates—flat devices that attach directly to chips for heat dissipation. If successful, these plates could provide plug-and-play cooling for some of the most thermally demanding hardware available. A commercial spin-off is already in the works, with researchers forming a startup focused on developing this technology into a commercially viable product line. Their target markets include data centres, edge devices, and next-generation AI workloads—all of which require smarter, more efficient cooling solutions.

### A Boost From the NSF and Nanotech Infrastructure

This research was made possible with support from the National Science Foundation through grants CMMI-1762560 and DMR-2005181 and was conducted at the San Diego Nanotechnology Infrastructure (SDNI), part of the National Nanotechnology Coordinated Infrastructure network. A patent application (PCT/US24/46923) has already been filed by the Regents of the University of California, signaling their confidence in the technology’s future potential.

### Innovation That’s More Than Hot Air

It’s rare for a filtration membrane to be repurposed as a cutting-edge cooling system, but this innovative thinking is precisely what the tech industry requires. In a world where energy consumption and climate risks are converging, solutions like this offer refreshing alternatives. The pursuit of efficiency now extends beyond computational throughput; it encompasses the infrastructure that supports it. If this new membrane system can be scaled effectively, it has the potential to revolutionize high-performance computing, making it cleaner, cooler, and significantly more sustainable.