Cooling Innovation and Circularity: Addressing Water Stress in the Age of AI-Driven Data Centers

This thesis examines the growing demand for data centers and the critical challenges posed by their water and energy consumption. As artificial intelligence (AI) technologies expand, the infrastructure supporting these systems has become essential. The study highlights the projected increase in data center capacity driven by AI workloads and focuses on the impact in water-stressed regions across the United States. Given the resource-intensive nature of data centers, the research explores cooling technologies aimed at reducing environmental impact. Traditional air cooling is compared with innovative liquid and evaporative cooling techniques. Additionally, the thesis promotes circular economy principles, emphasizing resource efficiency, reuse, and regeneration as a pathway to sustainable operations.

Name thesis:degree_name

Master

Department dc:contributor.department

Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Center for Real Estate. Program in Real Estate Development.

Grantor dc:publisher

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Year dc:date.issued

2025

Author dc:creator

• Kseibati, Reem

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Saiz, Albert

Statement dc:rights

• In Copyright - Educational Use Permitted
• Copyright retained by author(s)

Licence dc:rights.uri

• https://rightsstatements.org/page/InC-EDU/1.0/

Handle dc:identifier.uri

https://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/158889

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/158889