LRZ expansion: More space for data centre infrastructure
Technologie:Energy-efficiency
The Free State Bavaria is investing around € 500 million in the Leibniz Supercomputing Centre (LRZ). Over the next few years, the computer building will be expanded, and the power and cooling infrastructure upgraded, to ensure the reliable operation of future generations of high-performance systems like supercomputers, AI clusters and quantum computers. “This is a tremendous boost for science and research in Bavaria, and thus for the state's innovative strength,” says Prof. Helmut Reiser, LRZ Deputy Director. “We are delighted that, with this significant support, we can expand the LRZ and position it resiliently for the future.”
The first construction work has already begun: At the beginning of Octobre, Bayernwerk, a subsidiary of the electricity provider E.ON, hosted a groundbreaking ceremony for the LRZ substation in Garching. The substation, which will cost approximately 30 million euros, is being built near the Bavarian State Library's storage facilities on campus. Due to begin operations in 2028, it will provide a redundant, secure power supply to the LRZ with two transformers, each with a capacity of 50 megavolt-amperes (MVA).
“Science is relying on increasingly powerful supercomputers and AI computers for simulations of natural phenomena, modelling of climate data and artificial intelligence methods. Our power demand will increase significantly in the coming years – even the extremely energy-efficient operation of our data centre will not change this,” says Reiser. “The substation creates the necessary prerequisites for the operation of future IT infrastructures.”
In addition to operating high-performance and supercomputers, the LRZ will run AI clusters funded by Bavaria, Germany and Europe, in order to maintain the competitiveness of science and industry. The LRZ's offerings will also be expanded by quantum systems and innovative technologies such as photonic computing systems.
Extensive renovations have already begun in the LRZ's computer building. These preparations are in anticipation of the construction of the next supercomputer, Blue Lion, which is expected to deliver around 30 times the performance of the current SuperMUC-NG system from 2027 onwards.
The next step will be to expand the computer building to the north: by 2032, the new extension will provide five floors of space for the sophisticated power and cooling infrastructure required by the next generation of supercomputers and AI systems following Blue Lion.
Since 2010, the LRZ and its technology partners have been developing warm water cooling systems for computers. This replaces the systems' energy-intensive air cooling and increases Power Usage Efficiency (PUE), a measure of energy efficiency in data centres. 'Thanks to sophisticated measures in the water cycle and various optimisations in computer operation, we now achieve a PUE value of just under 1.05 for supercomputing and AI systems. This means that a maximum of five percent of the power consumed needs to be used for cooling,' explains Reiser. The majority of the energy can therefore be used for computing. Other data centres have PUE values between 1.6 and 3. The LRZ is collaborating with researchers and partners to further improve efficiency and operation, particularly with regard to water cooling for as many computer resources as possible.
Water cooling also makes the waste heat from the supercomputers usable. It has been used to air-condition all of the LRZ's office buildings for many years, and will be used to heat the buildings on the research campus in future. The necessary infrastructure is already being upgraded to enable this. (vs | LRZ)