MISD: Modular Integrated Sustainable Datacenters
As the need for more sustainable computing and communication infrastructures grows, in the realm of climate change, the aim of MISD is to develop a new modular, sustainable and secure-by-design concept to be deployed in places close to end users (edge computing) so that significant reduction in total energy consumption, from cooling to computing power and data flows, can be achieved. The MISD consortium will design, develop, and validate in a fieldlab innovative solutions, both in hardware and software, toward this target.
MISD project received a total of €34 million from the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate under the European Important Projects of Common European Interest - Cloud Infrastructure and Services (IPCEI-CIS) program for 2024-2029. The consortium consists of Asperitas, BetterBe, Deerns, Eurofiber, NBIP (National Internet Providers Management Organization), TNO and University of Twente.
In the scope of MISD, the UT with faculty members from EEMCS, ET, TNW, and BMS will focus on four sustainability-oriented research lines:
1) scalable, sustainable, innovative computing and communication approaches for data center operations considering edge infrastructures as well as interaction of data centers with the electricity grid;
2) advanced thermal management for sustainable cooling and heat use;
3) solutions for cyber-secure multi-party cloud systems and edge infrastructure; and
4) stakeholder engagement through learning communities for interorganizational learning and innovation implementation.
The UT Faculty members will work on these topics through the project’s WP2, 3, 4, and 5.
WP2 - Orchestration and Energy Flexibility Lead partner: TNO; Cooperating partners: UT, Eurofiber, Deerns, NBIP, BetterBe
Objective
Developing an architecture and the necessary algorithms for orchestration and network evolution so that a computing infrastructure can function sustainably, in interaction with communication and energy network operators.
Lead partner: NBIP; Cooperating partners: UT, Deerns, Eurofiber, TNO
Objective
Researching and specifying a security integrated design of the eDCs including the development, testing and implementation of the necessary software based on a European open source community. Securely connecting cloud service providers, edge facilities and end users is key to this, while also meeting the sustainability objectives pursued in this project. The integration with the other work packages in this project is extremely important and an important driver for the intended software functionality.
WP4 - Advanced Thermal Management Lead partner: Asperitas; Cooperating partners: BetterBe, Deerns, NBIP, TNO, Eurofiber, UT
Objective
This WP focuses on ambitious activities that seek to solve the global dilemma: passive cooling of high-performance hardware packed in a high density and with a high reuse potential of low-temperature waste heat. It will partially pursue experimental research and developments in advanced liquid cooling, leveraging the market-leading expertise and in-depth knowledge of refrigeration systems from Asperitas and its partners.
WP5 - MISD Use Case development, Ecosystem Collaboration and Experience Center Lead partner: UT; Cooperating partners: Eurofiber, TNO, NBIP, Deerns
Objective
To analyze the application potential and develop use case capabilities, including the ESG aspects and validation thereof, to be carried out for specific user profiles and together with specific user groups, and to be carried out in an experience center and through seminars, workshops, tests and surveys. Dissemination and communication of project activities and results are part of this