China's top liquid cooling seminar hosted by Open Data Central Committee (ODCC) kicked off in Shanghai on Thursday, where the most advanced technologies and their latest applications on power, internet and television industries, as well as an Earth Simulator were introduced and discussed.  

Over the past few years, CPU speeds have been increasing at a dramatic rate. In order to generate the new speeds, CPUs have more transistors to draw more power and achieve higher clock rates, which also leads to greater heat inside the computer. Liquid cooling is an efficient way of drawing heat away from the processor and outside the system, which are favored by extreme overclockers. Some people have been able to almost double the processor speed by using very complex liquid cooling solutions.

Just like a radiator for a car, a liquid cooling system circulates a liquid which can transfer heat from the hot processor. The liquid then moves out to a radiator at the back of the case and emits the heat to the ambient air and the cooled liquid then travels back through the system to the CPU to continue the process.

Twenty-one experts and scholars from government, research institutes and enterprises shared their industrial perspectives at the seminar. Authorities from the Ministry of Environment Protection explained the relevant indicators and policies.

Guo Zhenhai, deputy director from  Chinese Academy of Sciences, took center-stage after introducing the liquid cooling's application on the Earth Simulator, where all of the atmosphere, ocean currents, earthcrust and ecology were designed based on the simulations of the liquid cooling system and provided favorable results and economic benefits.

Industry suppliers Lenovo, IBM and Schneider Electric explained their liquid cold plates. Lin Mi, chief technology officer at Schneider, analyzed the differences between plate and immersion cooling, including costs, power consumption and noise, while introducing the global developments in the industry.  

Green Revolution Cooling’s (GRC) director for Greater China unveiled plans to enter the Chinese market, and expressed hopes for more cooperation with Chinese companies.

An environmental impact assessment method, Global Warming Potential (GWP), was also discussed at the seminar. Liquid products with GWP less than 150 was suggested, based on European Union guidelines.