Data centre operator ST Telemedia Global Data Centres (STT GDC) has partnered Phaidra to test an AI-based autonomous control system that promises to optimise data centre cooling in its Singapore facilities.
With this setup, autonomous AI agents will analyse thousands of sensor trends in real-time to maximise energy efficiency, reliability, and cooling performance using specialised deep learning models.
This closed-loop system allows the AI agents to continually learn and adjust to changing facility circumstances, such as differences in load due to the deployment of greater-density graphics processing units (GPUs) or changes in the outside weather.
STT GDC will be the first operator to test Phaidra’s AI-powered control systems in Asia, in a hybrid cooling environment that is technically more difficult than standard air-cooled data centres. Certain STT GDC data centres handle a variety of computing workloads inside the same facility by providing a mix of liquid and air cooling options.
STT GDC aims to be carbon neutral by 2030 and this partnership with Phaidra, a company that uses AI to help cool down data centres, is in line with Singapore’s goal of making the data centre sector greener in the future.
The power requirements of AI workloads are increasing, and this demand for high-performance computing has generated more heat, which must be managed more sustainably and efficiently.
An early estimate of 10 per cent in cooling energy savings is projected based on current site conditions. Energy savings would rise from the 10 per cent baseline to as high as 30 per cent when the AI model is fed more operational data, according to STT GDC.
This flagship project will act as a template for potential follow-up installations across the worldwide data centre portfolio of the Singapore-based operator.
It has more than 95 data centres across 11 geographies and points of presence in over 20 markets. Its portfolio has a total capacity of more than 1.7GW.
“Through this collaboration, we are not only seeing meaningful impact on our ongoing decarbonisation efforts, but also significant efficiency gains in data centre operations that already offer a hybrid of both air and liquid cooling,” said Daniel Pointon, the group chief technology officer for STT GDC.
As one of the top hubs for data centres both domestically and globally, Singapore aims to be a leader in sustainable innovation in the data centre industry.
The country has announced a its Green Data Centre Roadmap for sustainable growth, with plans to boost data centres’ energy efficiency at both hardware and software levels, and to increase data centres’ use of green energy to expand capacity.
