In today’s landscape, our reality is becoming increasingly digital, and we are becoming more and more dependent on it. This increased dependency makes data centers critical.
Data centers are industrial units often reaching a size equivalent to more than 50 football pitches and that accommodate a significant number of people and complex systems.
Thirsty data centers in a drying world
One of the main challenges data centers pose is that they consume a significant amount of water, most of which is used for cooling purposes. On average, data centers use about 3-5 million gallons of water every day. To put that into perspective, it’s about the same as the daily water needs of a city with a population of roughly 50,000 people!
But why do they use so much water? We’ve already touched upon how today’s landscape is becoming increasingly digital, which means that data centers are becoming bigger. It’s not just the size, though. It’s also the systems they encompass, such as cooling towers, chillers, pumps, pipes and heat exchangers, all of which require a large availability of water resources.
We can’t always rely on a healthy availability of water, though. It’s hardly a secret that water scarcity is a global issue and according to the UN, around 2 billion people live in water-stressed countries. One of the main culprits of this is climate change which intensifies droughts and depletes water resources. Poor water management and infrastructure failures also play a huge part, especially in urban areas.
While some countries and communities feel the crisis more than others, the United Nations warns that half the global population could face water scarcity by 2050, highlighting the urgent need for sustainably thinking water practices and infrastructure improvement. And that’s where Grundfos comes into the picture.
Pushing the boundaries of efficient water treatment
Given the nature of climate change and the projected threefold increase in cooling needs over the next decade, there’s a need for high-efficiency water treatment solutions in data centers.
Here, Grundfos’ water treatment solutions emerge as the real game changers, offering not only water savings but also financial and environmental benefits, improved system efficiency and reduced health risks.
By removing particulates and minerals, these solutions optimise heat transfer, reducing the water volume required for cooling systems. This decrease in water volume leads to a proportional reduction in energy consumption by pumps and related equipment. Additionally, the blowdown from the cooling process exhibits improved chemical quality, allowing for greater utilisation within the system.
For data centers, reusing water is the real difference maker as it enables a more sustainable data center operation, proving to be a vital step towards our collective aim of contributing to overcoming the world’s water scarcity challenges.
Built to last and designed to save
During a recent data center project, Grundfos was heavily involved in the design and implementation of the data center campus. We swiftly delivered a system that was specifically designed for the cooling applications within that data center.
By optimising the water quality, we helped to prevent scaling, biofilm and corrosion, potentially extending the lifespan of the center’s cooling equipment to 20-30 years. Not only that, the water-saving and energy-efficient characteristics of such a system could potentially save up to 20% water, while operational expenses can also be slashed by up to 20% thanks to the robust, efficient and reliable nature of the solution.
With the right water treatment solution and a healthy focus on reusing water for multiple purposes, there is clear evidence that data centers can make significant water and energy savings. And by reusing water, the cooling of a data center suddenly becomes a fully circular operation, which can save thousands, sometimes millions, of gallons of water.
Pumps are essential components of water treatment systems, but they do not directly reduce water consumption per se. However, variable speed pumps such as Grundfos’ MAGNA and TPE solutions can significantly reduce energy costs.
Once these efficient pump solutions are coupled with advanced controls and integrated into a single unit within your water treatment system, the magic really starts to happen. Energy savings become water savings. And we all know that saving energy and water saves money.
Every drop matters… again and again
Between 2020 and 2024, Grundfos made four acquisitions within water treatment, all of which helped to form the newly established business area, Grundfos Water Treatment Europe, emphasising the importance of delivering complete water treatment solutions to, among others, data centers.
Francesco Magri, head of Grundfos Water Treatment Europe, said in 2024 that “it is more critical than ever that we treat, consume and reuse water with great care.” So, how do we apply that passion, sentiment and ambition to our water treatment work within data centers?
It is more critical than ever that we treat, consume and reuse water with great care
As a global company and expert in water management solutions, Grundfos has the privilege of working on water treatment projects in data centers all over the world. Given that water properties differ, being able to work on so many different projects just highlights the adaptability of our water treatment solutions depending on the needs of the different markets. For instance, some areas have bad water which can cause scaling and corrosion, while others enable immediate water reuse, achieving water savings of anywhere between 30 to 80%.
Given that water scarcity is a real issue all over the world, thinking sustainably and reusing water is a must. The increasing demand for cloud services and data storage, as well as the increasing scrutiny and pressure in water-stressed regions to meet and adopt efficient practices, only adds to the importance of reusing water.
By acknowledging and accepting that this is the reality we face, continuing to innovate within the water treatment sector has become a critical part of our journey, as we seek new ways to reuse water and demonstrate that there truly is possibility in every drop.