Malaysia is creating a palm oil-derived liquid for immersion cooling. The Palm Oil Board of Malaysia (MPOB), a government organization supporting the palm oil sector, is nearly finished developing the fluid, called Sawit EcoTherm. MPOB claims that this fluid might decrease water and energy usage in Malaysia’s data centers.
Palm oil fruit is collected for this purpose – Stratman2 on Flickr. Dr. Noor Khairin Mohd, a senior research officer at the process engineering and design unit within MPOB’s advanced oleochemical technology division, stated to Malaysian news outlet Bernama: “If embraced on a large scale, immersion cooling technology employing Sawit EcoTherm could substantially decrease water requirements in the data center sector.”.
Palm oil, sourced from the African oil palm’s pulp, is the globe’s favored vegetable oil. Its applications encompass food production, beauty products, and biofuel usage. After Indonesia, Malaysia ranks as the country with the second highest oil production.
Despite being able to produce palm oil in a sustainable manner, its cultivation has been associated with destructive deforestation. This occurs when palm plantations take over the land previously occupied by various ecosystems, leading to the loss of habitats for both plants and animals.
Environmental activists claim that the palm oil industry has caused harm to threatened species such as orangutans and Sumatran elephants. In addition to its capital, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia has a thriving data center sector centered around Johor, which takes advantage of its close location to Singapore’s financial center.
The text suggests that direct-to-chip liquid cooling is more popular among AI data center companies than immersion cooling. A 65MW immersion-cooled data center is being planned in Cyberjaya, Malaysia, funded by Selangor Industrial Corporation. MPOB aims to collaborate with data center companies to demonstrate the effectiveness of its fluid.
Cargill offers an immersion cooling fluid made from 90% vegetable oil, while other options consist of fluorocarbons and mineral oils. For further information, refer to the Cooling section. Den 18:e mars år 2026.
Further in Southeast Asia.
