Asperitas and Shell launch new immersion cooling fluid

Immersion cooling specialist Asperitas and Shell will launch Shell Immersion Cooling Fluid S5 X at the Open Compute Project (OCP) Global Summit in San Jose, USA, 4–5 March 2020. The new fluid is the product of the two companies’ strategic fluid development partnership and long-standing research and development relationship that aim to reduce data centre energy consumption. The announcement is in line with Asperitas’ leadership role on immersion cooling technology optimisation and standardisation efforts, like in the OCP Advanced Cooling Solutions sub-project, and Shell’s desire to support innovative energy solutions.

‍Shell Immersion Cooling Fluid S5 X is a synthetic, single-phase immersion cooling fluid made from gas using Shell’s gas-to-liquids technology. It is optimised for Asperitas’ natural-convection-driven immersion cooling solutions but can also be used in the pump/forced circulation systems of other providers. The liquid is designed to reduce energy costs and emissions through its high cooling efficiency, excellent flow behaviour as well as thermodynamic properties, and it is available across the immersion-cooling market.“We are excited to bring this new product to the market,” says Eduardo de Azevedo, Shell product application specialist for immersion cooling fluids. “Our immersion cooling fluid can help to cut data centre energy consumption and reduce carbon dioxide emissions. The gas-to-liquids technology is a sustainable alternative for the immersion cooling industry.”

Rolf Brink, Asperitas CEO says “Shell is our trusted partner for developing the immersion cooling fluid, preferred partner for deployments and quality monitoring. With their decades of experience there is a tremendous amount of value for our customers and strategic partners we can offer together.”

Asperitas has been an OCP member since 2018 and an active leader in Advanced Cooling Solutions sub-project activities. In addition to the joint launch of Shell Immersion Cooling Fluid S5 X, Asperitas will showcase solutions connected with the OCP activities on the standardisation of immersion cooling technology and IT equipment specifications. The company will announce an addition to its product portfolio with a new and larger immersion cooling solution that will make use of the full potential of its Immersed Computing® concept. The system offers full flexibility to OEMs, system integrators and end-users to facilitate high-density compute and OCP-ready 21” wide server solutions. The immersion cooling system will be delivered with a Redfish industry open standard to enable full integration within the OCP ecosystem. Redfish has been designed to deliver simple and secure management for converged, hybrid IT and software-defined data centres. During the summit, Asperitas will showcase several server solutions based on the open cassette specification that will be introduced. The combined product announcements will enforce the large-scale implementation of this immersion cooling technology by cloud hyperscalers, telecom providers and other OCP adopters.

‍About Asperitas

‍Asperitas, a Dutch clean and high-tech scale-up, develops and markets Immersed Computing® a technology based on immersion liquid cooling to enable data centres to function in a sustainable manner, even for the most demanding users and environments. In 2018, Asperitas won the international New Energy Challenge competition organised by Shell, Rockstart and YESDelft, and in the same year was named “Hottest Greentech Startup of Europe” and “Global Changemakers” in other award competitions.

‍About Shell Immersion Cooling Fluid

‍Shell Immersion Cooling Fluid S5 X, a synthetic, single-phase immersion cooling fluid, is made from gas using Shell’s gas-to-liquids technology and can be used in natural convection and pump/forced circulation systems. It is designed to reduce energy costs and emissions through its high cooling efficiency and excellent flow behaviour and thermodynamic properties; cost less to manufacture than alternatives, such as fluorocarbons and intensely engineered fluids; improve product safety through its high compatibility with computer components; and be safe and easy to handle. The fluid has been co-developed with leading immersion cooling specialist Asperitas.