Intel Patent Overheats Data Centers For ‘Energy Harvesting’

Data centers’ energy problem is only getting worse as AI and cloud capacity ramp up. 

Among the tech firms in search of solutions is Intel, which is seeking to patent a system for “energy harvesting in data centers” that would generate power from center hardware such as server racks or individual CPUs and GPUs. 

For each server rack, the system would monitor individual indicators, including power consumption, temperature, historical performance and cooling requirements. The system would then use those metrics to determine a “selection score” for the rack as a whole.

Instead of spreading out workloads to avoid overheating a certain rack, Intel’s tech would intentionally create hotspots based on selection scores, then harvest the waste heat for conversion into additional energy. 

“As a result of inefficient and/or insufficient energy reclamation, opportunities to reuse the heat for purposes such as electrical generation remain untapped,” Intel said in the filing. 

Intel is far from the first company to consider new methods to power up data centers: Microsoft has sought to patent ways to use cryogenic energy; Nvidia has researched ways to intelligently power down idle hardware; and Google filed a patent application for energy usage forecasting.

It makes sense that they’re looking to resolve this issue: The Department of Energy estimates that data centers will consume approximately 6.7% to 12% of total U.S. electricity by 2028. Worldwide, power demand from data centers is projected to more than double by 2030, hitting about 945 terawatt-hours – just above the energy consumed by all of Japan today, according to the International Energy Agency. 

Though these inventions can help tamp down the data centers’ already outrageous energy use, they may be a bandage on a bullet hole given the sheer magnitude of current and projected AI and cloud computing demand.