The technology combines a mathematical algorithm with 3D printing to create pure copper cooling plates that dramatically outperform conventional cold plates used in direct-to-chip cooling systems. According to the researchers from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, applying the technology across an entire data center could reduce cooling-related electricity consumption from roughly 30% to just 1.1%.

The AI boom has driven data center electricity consumption to staggering levels, to the point that companies are considering building data centers in space to gain more direct access to solar energy! What makes AI's power demand more striking is that one-third of this power has absolutely nothing to do with computation. It all goes to cooling the hardware. A single NVIDIA GB200 chip runs at 1,200 watts, consuming 28.8 kW-hours of electricity daily. That's roughly equivalent to the average daily consumption of a US household, calculated from the total yearly consumption. One chip. But that's not even our pain point.