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Samhwa Ace, R&D commencement
Date2024-07-01
Hit34
A national R&D project has been launched to develop a world-class domestic immersion cooling system. This research project is expected to draw attention as it includes not only the development of commercial-level products for high-efficiency immersion cooling but also the development of systems for data center (DC) waste heat recovery reuse.

The Samhwa Ace Consortium recently held a kickoff meeting for the national project, ‘Development Demonstration of Ultra-High-Efficiency Data Center Heat Management Technology Using Immersion Cooling’, a project of ‘2024 Energy Dem Management Core Technology Development’ supported by the Korea Institute of Energy Technology Evaluation Planning (hereinafter referred to as EEP).

This R&D project includes the development of high-efficiency immersion cooling technology active utilization technology for unused energy, the establishment of a DC demonstration site that combines these technologies. The research period is 48 months until March 2028, the government-supported R&D cost is approximately KRW 18 billion, with KRW 4 billion invested in the first year.

Lim Seung-bin, the head of the dem management division at Egi-Pyung, said, “This project showed a very high competition rate, which confirms the interest in DC immersion cooling,” added, “The researchers who participated in this Samhwa Ace consortium are excellent resources, so I hope they will devote themselves to R&D produce good results.”

Lee Yoon-bin, the PD for Efficiency Improvement at Egi-Pyung, emphasized, “DC is under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Science ICT, but DC will inevitably increase in the future, there will be significant problems without solving the problem of power consumption in DC, so the purpose of this research project is to improve the efficiency of the energy system by utilizing the budget of the Ministry of Trade, Industry Energy,” emphasized, “I believe that we will be able to solve the difficult challenges included in the project since many experts have gathered.”

Choi Byeong-nam, executive director of Samhwa Ace, who is in charge of the overall project, said, “This R&D, in which 152 experts are participating, has set PUE as its core goal is proceeding with the challenging goal of achieving 1.06,” “We plan to demonstrate a server rack of 200kW or more for 6,000 hours.”

Composition of products, waste heat utilization system, demonstration construction
This R&D consists of three sub-projects. The first sub-project is ‘Development of core DC immersion cooling technology (host: Zeus Oil Industry),’ the second sub-project is ‘Development of technology for active utilization heat management of unused heat from immersion cooling (host: Samjung Tech),’ the third sub-project is ‘Integrated demonstration of unused energy utilization technology linked to DC immersion cooling system (host: Samhwa Ace).’

The first sub-division develops: △Development of non-conductive eco-friendly working fluids △Analysis of working fluid characteristics heat transfer promotion technology △Immersion cooling server-rack path structure optimization △Design based on heat flow analysis △Optimization of internal external heat exchange performance △Development optimization of immersion cooling systems, etc. Zeus Oil Industry △Uniwide △Korea Institute of Industrial Technology △Jeonbuk National University, etc. are participating.

The second sub-division focuses on: △Analysis of low-temperature heat source-utilizing adsorption heat pump cycle △Selection optimization of adsorbents driven by low-temperature heat sources △Design technology for cooler heat exchangers for immersion cooling △Design technology for adsorption reactors heat exchangers △Production performance verification of adsorption heat pump systems △Immersion cooling adsorption heat pump linkage technology, etc. The participating organizations are: △Samjung Tech △The MG △SN Information Technology △Korea Institute of Machinery Materials △Korea Research Institute of Chemical Technology △Pukyong National University, etc.

The three sub-parts are: △Development of scale-up application technology for immersion cooling on a demonstration scale; △Demonstration of immersion cooling active utilization module for unused energy; △Optimization of integrated thermal system for immersion cooling thermal management module; △Linkage technology for base system for active utilization of unused energy; △Integrated demonstration of high-density DC system; △Uninterrupted high-reliability operation management technology for demonstration system; △Stardization of DC immersion cooling system, etc. Participating institutions include △Samhwa Ace, △LG CNS, △Onion Software, △Woowon M&E, △Korea Electronics Technology Institute, △Korea Refrigeration Air-conditioning Certification Center, △Korea Data Center Energy Efficiency Association, △Hanbat National University.

Government R&D promotion