# Microsoft: hotspot-aware cooling for AI data centres

Canonical URL: https://gabrieldalton.com/portfolio/microsoft
Author: Gabriel Dalton

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A student consulting project for Microsoft, through The Knowledge Society, on cooling AI data centres with less energy.

- **Role** Student consultant, team of four
- **Period** Feb 2025 to Mar 2025
- **Result** Semi-finalist
- **Deck** [Read the full deck (PDF, 19 slides, 2.9 MB) →](https://gabrieldalton.com/decks/microsoft-hotspot-aware-cooling.pdf)

Cooling can use up to 40% of a data centre's energy. Standard cold plates spread coolant evenly across a chip, but AI chips heat unevenly, so most of that cooling goes where it is not needed.

Our team of four recommended hotspot-aware cold plates. Narrow, densely packed coolant channels sit over the hottest parts of the chip and wider channels over the cooler parts. We modelled a rollout to 10% of Microsoft's data centres, 30 sites, starting in 2030, and built a simulation to show how the cooling responds as the workload moves across a chip.

## Numbers

- **$2.4B** modelled savings by 2050
- **15 to 20%** less cooling energy
- **6M+ tons** of CO₂ avoided

These figures are our team's estimates from public sources, not Microsoft's own numbers.

## From the deck

![Title slide: Hotspot-Aware Cooling for AI Data Centres, Precision Flow Optimization for Thermal Efficiency. A precision coolant flow system in 10% of Microsoft's data centres, 30 sites, could unlock $2.4B in savings by 2050 and prevent over 6 million tons of CO₂.](https://gabrieldalton.com/img/projects/microsoft-slide-1.webp) 

*The proposal in one slide.*

![Slide explaining the design. Hotspot areas of the chip get narrower, densely packed coolant channels that pull away more heat. Cooler areas get wider, spaced-out channels that reduce flow resistance and save pump energy.](https://gabrieldalton.com/img/projects/microsoft-slide-6.webp) 

*How the coolant is routed.*

![Financial overview slide with a line chart of net change from 2025 to 2050: about $5 million for research in 2025, about $15 million for deployment in 2030, rising to about $2.4 billion saved by 2050.](https://gabrieldalton.com/img/projects/microsoft-slide-10.webp) 

*The financial model, 2025 to 2050.*

Have a project like this? Email me at me \[at\] gabrieldalton.com