NUS, NTU Singapore partner to launch $17m data center research program

The National University of Singapore (NUS) and Nanyang Technological University Singapore (NTU Singapore) have established a S$23 million (US$17.3 million) research program for cooling solutions for data centers in tropical locations.

Artist’s impression of the STDCT facility / Photo credit: NUS

Established along with stakeholders in the city-state’s data center industry, the Sustainable Tropical Data Center Testbed (STDCT) will serve as a hub for academia and the industry to work together to future-proof the region’s data center industry. It’s expected to be operational by October 1 this year.

The program is funded by the National Research Foundation Singapore (NRF) and anchor industry partner Facebook. NUS and NTU Singapore are supported by the Infocomm Media Development Authority, with industry partners Ascenix, CoolestDC, Keppel Data Centres, New Media Express, and Red Dot Analytics also involved.

According to a statement, data centers are currently air-cooled at temperatures between 23 and 27 degrees Celcius, which leads to high energy consumption and carbon emissions.

Singapore currently supplies around 60% of all the data centers in Southeast Asia. This creates a need for lower energy consumption alternatives for cooling, as data centers in Singapore consume almost 7% of the country’s total energy needs currently.

“Data centers are the backbone of the digital economy and they require constant cooling for optimal operations,” said NRF CEO Low Teck Seng. “The new STDCT will accelerate the development and test bedding of innovative and sustainable solutions for data centers toward commercial deployment.”