FTS Sustainability Lightning Talks

Why It Matters

These technologies cut energy waste, reduce emissions and operating costs, enabling data centers to scale sustainably while meeting growing ESG and regulatory pressures.

Key Takeaways

• High‑temperature superconductors cut data‑center power loss to 1%
• Tokamak‑BE study shows up to 90% CO₂ emission reduction
• DI‑water two‑phase cooling achieves 1.07 PoE at 2.5 kW per chip
• Iron‑sodium batteries promise sub‑second backup at <$2,000/kW cost
• Non‑PFAS glide refrigerants improve condenser efficiency without pollutants

Summary

The Future Technology Symposium’s Lightning Talks on Sustainability showcased cutting‑edge solutions for data‑center power, cooling and backup. Speakers from BE, Tokamak Energy, Creatine, InLight Energy and Excelsior presented technologies ranging from superconducting power distribution to advanced two‑phase cooling and novel battery chemistries.

Tokamak’s high‑temperature superconductors were shown to slash distribution losses from 9% to 1%, delivering up to a 9% efficiency gain and a 90% reduction in CO₂ emissions, while eliminating 98% of copper and cutting water use by 80%. Creatine demonstrated a DI‑water two‑phase cooling plate that achieves a power‑over‑efficiency (PoE) of 1.07 at 2.5 kW per chip with a minimal 0.4 LPM flow, targeting 500 W/cm² and 20 kW modules. InLight highlighted iron‑sodium (NaCl) batteries, repurposed from EVs, offering sub‑second response, 24‑hour backup at under $2,000/kW (potentially <$1,000/kW), and load‑leveling for AI workloads.

Key data points included a linear loss curve for superconductors versus quadratic loss for copper, a 12‑fold expansion ratio in vapor phase for the DI‑water system, and six months of rapid‑cycle testing showing no degradation in the sodium‑metal‑chloride batteries. Notable quotes: “90% loss reduction translates directly into extra revenue,” and “We can replace diesel backup with a CapEx‑equivalent battery solution.”

Collectively, these innovations promise to dramatically lower operational expenditures, boost compute density, and meet stringent ESG targets. By addressing power‑distribution bottlenecks, water‑intensive cooling and carbon‑heavy diesel generators, they pave the way for gigawatt‑scale, sustainable data‑center deployments.

Original Description

Presenter(s):

GUIDO MACCHI, Business Development Manager, Tokamak Energy Ltd

Sath Ganesarajah, Founder & CEO, +BE Company Ltd

Ching-chih Wei, CEO, CreAlien Co.- Ltd

Ben Kaun, Chief Commercial Officer, Inlyte Energy

Gerro Prinsloo, Co-Founder, LoadCrest

Richard Bonner, CTO, Accelsius

Qingyang Wang, Principal Engineer, Accelsius

Yajing Zhao, CEO, Orien Energy

Tina Stark, R&D Engineer, RISE Research Institutes of Sweden

David Esteban Aviles, Researcher, RISE Research Institutes of Sweden

System-Level Efficiency Gains of HTS Distribution for AI Clusters: A Comparative Power Analysis by Guido Macchi and Sath Ganesarajah

High-Efficiency Two-Phase DI Water DLC for Next-Gen AI Servers by Ching-chih Wei

Iron-Sodium Batteries for Emissions-Free Backup and Load-leveling at AI Data Centers by Ben Kaun and Gerro Prinsloo

PFAS-Free Two-Phase Direct-to-Chip Cooling Using a Glide Refrigerant by Richard Bonner and Qingyang Wang

Utilizing Data Center Waste Heat to Generate High-Temperature Steam via an Adsorption Heat Pump by Yajing Zhao

Validating Extreme IT Loads: A Cost-Effective Test Methodology using Server Emulators by Tina Stark and David Esteban Aviles