Microsoft has revolutionized data center design by introducing a cutting-edge system that eliminates the need for water evaporation in cooling, a move addressing water scarcity concerns in regions affected by shortages and droughts. Launched in August 2024, this innovative cooling system optimizes AI workloads while conserving water, forming part of Microsoft’s Datacenter Community Pledge to reduce environmental impact and support local communities. By utilizing chip-level liquid cooling technology, this system ensures precise temperature control without the necessity of water evaporation. While water is still used for administrative purposes, the cooling system operates on a closed loop, circulating water continuously between servers and chillers without requiring replenishment. This shift to closed-loop liquid cooling is anticipated to save over 125 million liters of water annually per data center, contributing significantly to water conservation efforts.

In line with this initiative, Microsoft plans to establish pilot sites for this technology in new data centers in Phoenix, Arizona, and Mt. Pleasant, Wisconsin, in 2026. All future Microsoft data centers will adopt this efficient cooling approach, with the first sites expected to be operational in 2027. While eliminating evaporative cooling may raise power usage effectiveness (PUE) due to increased energy requirements for mechanical cooling, the use of high-efficiency economizing chillers and elevated cooling temperatures will help offset this demand. Steve Solomon, Vice President of Datacenter Infrastructure Engineering at Microsoft, highlighted the company’s continuous efforts to reduce water consumption and improve Water Usage Effectiveness (WUE), expressing optimism that transitioning to zero-water evaporation data centers will lead to further reductions in water usage and environmental impact across Microsoft’s data center fleet.