Aquifer ‘thermal batteries’ may cut AI data center cooling demand and save water

Aquifer ‘thermal batteries’ may cut AI data center cooling demand and save water

Aquifer-based geothermal systems, known as aquifer thermal energy storage, could help ease the environmental stress stemming from artificial intelligence data centers in the United States. Researchers at the Prairie Research Institute at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign are proposing a new way to keep those facilities cool by using the naturally stable underground temperatures and groundwater as a giant natural “thermal battery.”