LucidCatalyst (2020)..

Driven by the relentless development of CPU and GPU processing power, the need for ever greater power and cooling density at rack level continues to increase exponentially.Data processed has roughly doubled every two years from 2 zettabytes in 2010 to 149 zettabytes in 2024, and the trend continues.

It was suggested that the increase in processor power will lead to rack density increasing, with the 1MW rack already being envisaged..The change at processor/rack level density is accelerating at a rate that brings challenges to construction project delivery.When projects can take four to five years to realise, there might be a tenfold increase in rack density within that lifetime, creating a significant dilemma of what to build and how to pivot..

The move from air-cooled to liquid-cooled solutions is key.However, liquid cooling topology can be more complicated and expensive, so the trajectory for take up of this technology is still evolving.. Another disparity in scales arises between rack density and cooling technology infrastructure.

While density is increasing exponentially, cooling technology is not.

You could achieve 10x as much density in a given data hall footprint, but the external mechanical and electrical plant will be 10x bigger.MMC is the collective term for the innovative construction methods that can be deployed by the DfMA designer.

MMC can be considered as the DfMA designer’s “toolkit”.The DfMA designer finds the most suitable innovations in the MMC toolkit (or develops new innovations) to meet a project’s unique challenges..

There are many construction innovations that can be considered MMC.The UK’s Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) recently established a Joint Industry Working Group on MMC which proposed the following categorisation: 3D primary structural systems, 2D primary structural systems, Non-system components, Additive Manufacturing, Assemblies and sub-assemblies, Material and Product Innovations and Site Process Innovations.