Tokyo Institute of Technology plans a five-year project beginning next fiscal year to develop a supercomputer with a cooling system that uses snow, ice and underground water in cold weather regions.
If successful, a supercomputer with a superior energy-saving system will be created.
Amid the intensifying global competition over supercomputers, one significant technological hurdle is that the larger a super-computer, the more electricity it consumes.
Currently, supercomputer cooling systems consume about 30 percent to 50 percent of the electricity necessary to power the devices.
The institute aims to reduce power consumption by 40 percent in a new supercomputer with the natural cooling materials.
When using such natural cooling resources, ensuring a stable environment is the most important factor.
In the project, a container with a small computer inside will be placed on the campus of Hokkaido University.
The computer will be cooled with low-temperature air, which is 7 C lower on average than in Tokyo, as well as underground water, snow and ice, to test whether the computer will operate in a stable manner.
The institute also will conduct an experiment to remotely control the computer using an ultra-high speed telecommunications link operated by the National Institute of Informatics, which connects state-run universities and research institutes nationwide.
In the experiment, Tokyo Institute of Technology will transmit huge volumes of data and connect different circuits.
In fiscal 2011, 75 million yen has been budgeted for the project. If successful, the institute will consider placing a larger computer at Hokkaido University.
Internationally, IBM's research lab in Zurich has built a supercomputer system utilizing water-cooling, which reduced electricity consumption by about 40 percent.
In the United States, the National Center for Atmospheric Research is scheduled to introduce a supercomputer with a low-temperature air-cooling system next year.
