GOLDEN, Colo. — The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) announced that it has won an R&D 100 award, in collaboration with Hewlett-Packard Co. (HP), for its HP Apollo Platform for High-Performance Computing. This innovative system uses component-level warm-water cooling to dissipate heat generated by the supercomputer, thus eliminating the need for chillers in the data center. The energy-saving approach based on warm-water cooling is a key reason that the building in which the supercomputer sits, NREL’s Energy Systems Integration Facility, was awarded Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Platinum designation and named 2014 Laboratory of the Year by R&D Magazine.

In addition, the cooling design allows waste heat from the computer to be captured and used to heat office and laboratory space, achieving even higher efficiency levels. High performance computers (HPC) provide the foundation for numerical modeling and simulations, which permit scientists to gain new insights and drive innovations in energy efficiency and renewable energy technologies, said NREL. However, as HPC systems become more powerful, energy use and cooling of these systems becomes more challenging, necessitating a solution, such as the one provided by HP and NREL.

Leading the initiative were NREL’s Steve Hammond and Nicolas Dube of HP.

All winners will be recognized at the R&D 100 Awards Ceremony in Las Vegas on Nov. 7. A list of this year’s winners is available here.

Publication date: 7/28/2014

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