Google will now cool Eemshaven data center with surface water

Google is moving away from cooling servers in Eemshaven data center with tap water and will start using surface water. To this end, Google, together with Water Company Groningen and North Water, has installed a new water purification system and pipelines.

Google is investing more than 45 million euros for the switch to surface water. The new water purification system and pipes can also be used by other companies in the region. Google will initially use surface water, but in the meantime is investigating how it can treat waste water to be used directly for cooling in the data center.

The switch to surface water is a way of making the company more sustainable. The company claims to be CO₂ neutral since 2007 and energy neutral since 2017. By 2030, all Google data centers and offices must use carbon-free energy.

In Google’s data center in Eemshaven, water is used to cool servers, instead of air. As a result, the data center requires considerably less energy for cooling. They use both a closed system where water flows continuously through the pipes and an open system with cooling towers to lower the temperature of the closed system.

Google worked together with the Groningen Water Company and North Water for five years on the construction of an industrial water supply for the Eemshaven. In addition to the industrial pipeline, the water company has also installed a new drinking water pipeline to provide the region with greater drinking water capacity.

Heat exchangers in the data center in the Eemshaven, Photo: Google