HP Labs Launches New Initiatives for 'Greener' Data Centers

HP Labs is launching new research initiatives aimed at developing new technologies and business models that leave a lighter carbon footprint. HP announced that HP Labs would focus on three sustainability research projects – an initiative to slash the carbon footprint of data centers by 75 percent, replace copper wiring in servers with laser-based communication and tools for measuring and managing the amount of energy used to develop products.

 

HP Labs's said its Sustainable Data Center project will study how energy is used, allowing companies to reduce electricity consumption in the data center and lighten the carbon footprint without impacting performance, reliability and uptime requirements. HP hopes this research will translate into new markets in smart buildings, grids and print factories.

 

The second sustainability initiative is HP's Photonic Interconnect project which would work to replace copper wiring in servers with laser-based communication. Optical laser connections within server equipment would be more flexible and 20 times more efficient than standard copper wires, the company said. The range of the laser connections could span 100 nanometers to 100 meters and be quickly redeployed based on business needs.

 

HP will develop software and services tools to measure and manage carbon emissions, total energy usage and non-recoverable energy consumption. The company said it will use this research to make businesses more sustainable and cost-effective through the innovative use of IT. HP Labs researchers will study commercial printing and publishing industries to see how best their current business model can benefit from the deployment of new research technologies while reducing resource and energy use as well as carbon emissions.

 

HP plans to extend this research to its customers in other vertical industries. One tool that HP scientists plan to use is called the Lifetime Exergy Advisor, an application HP Labs developed with the University of California at Berkeley. The software helps measure the amount of energy that goes into a product from the time that product is first created to the time it’s manufactured, shipped, used and then finally recycled. The Lifetime Exergy Advisor can help organizations determine the environmental benefits gained from using alternative materials and processes across every phase of the product life cycle.

 

HP Labs also plans to create an open, online community called a “sustainability hub,” which will allow researchers, experts and others to share research and methodologies related to sustainability. The hub will be available to the public sometime in 2009, according to HP officials. The sustainability hub is expected to be available to the public in 2009. HP Labs intends to apply the data in future research to quantify the amount of available energy used when new products and supply chains are created across the entire global ecosystem.

 

Prith Banerjee, senior vice president, research, and director, HP Lab, pointed out that HP is known for its commitment to environment friendly initiatives. Calling HP Labs pioneers in developing technology to reduce both energy consumption and carbon footprint, Banerjee said, “Today, HP Labs extends our dedication with these important research initiatives that will advance the state of the art in sustainable IT."