Aston receives £ 600000 to address the surge in energy needed for data centers

A researcher from Aston University in Birmingham, UK, has received a grant of £ 625000 (approximately $850000) to help address the energy surge required for data centers.

The UK’s Royal Academy of Engineering has announced the latest recipients of its fellowships which support engineers to solve a wide range of society’s challenges. Data center energy demand is described as “one of today’s most pressing challenges”.

Dr Aleksandr Donodin who works in the Aston Institute of Photonic Technologies (AIPT) is one of just 12 researchers to be granted funding this autumn. He will be examining fiber-optic networks to find solutions to the increasing power demands of data centers.

The International Energy Agency (IEA) works with governments and industry to safeguard energy for the future and predicts that from 2024 to 2030 data centers energy consumption will grow by around 15% per year, more than four times faster than the growth of total electricity use from all other sectors.

Bismuth-doped fiber amplifiers

Donodin will be exploring the use of the networks and bringing together bismuth-doped fiber amplifiers which have tiny amounts of bismuth added to them, and optical frequency combs which are used to precisely measure and control light. It will be the first time this combination is explored in detail and if successful “could cut power consumption in optical networks by 30–50% per bit,” says the Aston announcement. It will also enable O-band range of light wavelengths to reach transmission capacities beyond 200 terabytes per second.

Donodin said, “I am delighted to receive this fellowship for my research which is called Next Generation of Energy-efficient Optical Regional and Data Center Connections. Beyond its technical ambitions, the project strengthens Aston University’s role as a hub for sustainable, next-generation optical networks - reinforcing the UK’s leadership in critical digital technologies.”

He added, “To translate the technology to real world, the project will connect everyone from the top to the bottom of the telecom supply chain. We will work closely with device suppliers like Lightera and Pilot Photonics, draw on the expertise of equipment manufacturers like Coherent and Nokia Bell Labs. And finally, we will collaborate with Japan-based telecom operator KDDI on implementing the developed technologies for real world systems.

The research fellowships program is funded by the UK Government’s Department for Science, Innovation and Technology and supports early-career researchers to become future research leaders in engineering. The fellowships are designed to advance excellence in engineering by providing funding for five years to allow awardees the freedom to concentrate on basic research in any field of engineering. Amounts awarded are up to £625,000 over five years.

Professor Jonathan Cooper FREng FRSE, chair of the Academy’s research fellowships steering group, commented: “This cohort will work on ambitious programs of research that address many of today’s societal challenges, including those around healthcare and an ageing population as well as the environment, sustainability and net-zero”

Source: optics.org