Castrol promotes data centre cooling in Japan

BP-owned lubricant brand Castrol recently partnered with Itochu Techno-Solutions with the aim of promoting liquid cooling to Japanese data centres.

The joint-venture was approved by the IT service’s parent company, the Itochu Corporation, a major trading company in Japan. Now, all three organisations have added official signatures to a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) that details the structure of the collaboration.

The new agreement centres on liquid cooling for sites that run artificial intelligence (AI) and other computing processes involving intensive workloads.

As per the MOU, Castrol will provide coolant alongside technical services while Itochu will manage commercial structures, market development and offer its energy-focused knowledge and understanding. Itochu Techno-Solutions will serve as systems integrator for the endeavour and supply initial design and deployment, while handling operations.

The three companies aim to target data centres that face increasing heat output and power use. Many of the facilities focused on support high performance and generative AI computing systems.

Currently, data centres across the globe face higher heat density and greater electricity demands as operators continue to implement more advanced computing processes and AI. This recent trend is prominent in Japan and to answer requirements, local operators are beginning to leave air-only cooling systems behind to manager higher heat densities.

Liquid cooling employs electrical insulating lubricants that act as a heat transfer fluid (HTF) and extract excess heat via sealed systems. This method effectively removes heat near server components and chips as an alternative to traditional air-based cooling techniques.

You may also interested in:

OPEC+ to raise production quotas

The oil-producing countries in the OPEC+ grouping have decided to increase their total quota amid the disruption in shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.

BP to shift to simpler operational structure

UK-based oil and gas major BP has announced it will transition from a structure based around three segments to one that will focus more on its traditional upstream and downstream

Malaysian energy company to collaborate for offshore oil recovery

The state-owned oil and gas giant Petronas recently signed a new memorandum of understanding (MOU).