A gloved hand next to an assortment of wires connecting to a computer system.

Data Centre Immersion Cooling

What is immersion cooling?

What is immersion cooling?

With cloud computing, media streaming, and the explosive growth in AI, edge computing, and big data, society is demanding faster, more immediate access to information. This means that data centres are growing rapidly to deliver on that demand from consumers and businesses alike. The challenge? Data centres already account for roughly 1% of global electricity consumption – with more than a third of this power used for cooling electrical components. Data centres need more efficient, more climate-friendly ways to drive their operations.

Full immersion in a thermally conductive, electrically non-conductive (dielectric) coolant is a highly efficient way to keep computer components cool. It can help to cut energy consumption massively and lower carbon dioxide emissions, while reducing costs and increasing location flexibility.

Key benefits of Shell’s immersion cooling fluid

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    Performance and reliability

    Enabling servers to run faster and cooler by conducting heat 1,200 times better than air.

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    Compatible and scalable

    Lower complexity and space requirements make it easier and more cost-effective to implement.

  • Cloud down arrow CO₂

    Reduced emissions and energy use

  • Drop

    Safe and easy

    Extremely low volatility makes it simple and safe to handle and maintain.

Compared to air cooling, single-phase immersion cooling technology as an integrated solution offers:

  • Better performance

    Up to 40% faster CPU performance.

     
  • More efficient operations

    Up to 80% less floor space needed.

     
  • Increased profitability

    Up to 33% lower total cost of ownership (TCO).

  • Greater energy efficiency

    Up to 48% energy footprint reduction.

  • Up to 48% energy footprint reduction.

    Up to 30% lower CO2 emissions.

Figures based on: Global immersion cooling market in data centres – growth, trends and forecast (2019–2024) report (Mordor Intelligence) and Shell’s internal evaluations. Benefits achieved will vary according to actual site development.

No coolers

No coolers

No chillers

No chillers

No evaporative cooling

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No fans or bearings

No fans or bearings Image

Transforming energy use at data centres

Read our full Shell Immersion Cooling Fluids brochure to discover the full story about how these innovative fluids have been developed, why they are more effective than comparable alternatives and which type of cooling system is the best fit for you.

Download brochure

High performance computin low carbon footprint

Asperitas AIC24 hardware and Shell Immersion Cooling Fluid S5 X were installed to create a fully integrated, optimised, enterprise-level, high-performance immersed computing cluster at a Shell data centre in Amsterdam, the Netherlands.

Read Case Study

Downloads

  • Shell Immersion Cooling Fluid S3 X

    Shell Immersion Cooling Fluid S3 X

    Download the data sheet to see how our immersion cooling fluids can support your operations.

  • Shell Immersion Cooling Fluid Material Compatibility Guide

    Shell Immersion Cooling Fluid Material Compatibility Guide

    Explore the materials that are compatible with Shell Immersion Cooling Fluids.

  • Global Innovations from the Energy Sector 2010-2020 – World Economic Forum report

    Global Innovations from the Energy Sector 2010-2020 – World Economic Forum report

    See how Shell and Asperitas have accelerated the energy transition through energy innovation.

    Learn more

  • Four reasons why blockchain operators are moving to immersion cooling

    Four reasons why blockchain operators are moving to immersion cooling

    Find out why it is only a matter of time before immersion cooling becomes industry standard.

    Find out more

What’s new

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Working together to lower the carbon footprint of big data

Intel, Submer and Shell are collaborating to advance immersion cooling technology.

Click to watch how we're unlocking new possibilities

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Paving the way

Shell IT deploys immersion-cooled HPC cluster within its Houston data center, with help from AMD and Penguin.

Click to check out AMD's case study

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Earth Day news from Intel

Intel grants Shell Immersion Cooling Fluids exclusive preliminary certification.

Check out the latest from Intel's newsroom

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Powering progress together

Shell and Intel team up to boost end customer confidence in immersion cooling with real test results and innovation.

Find out more from Intel

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Advancing immersion cooling with our partner Asperitas

Delivering an energy efficient HPC cluster upgrade in Amsterdam.

Discover more about Asperitas

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Future of Sustainable Data Centers

Penguin Solutions, NVIDIA, and Shell Case Study.

Click to watch the Future of Sustainable Data Centers video

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