Lab aims to link power, cooling, and workload management to ease strain on the US grid

Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) is hoping to turn its technical expertise to the problem of growing electricity demand from AI datacenters.

The US federal research center in Tennessee is launching the Next Generation Data Centers Institute (NGDCI) in support of national energy and AI priorities, though any lessons learned will likely apply globally as well.

As an internal "institute within an institute," NGDCI aims to bring together the laboratory's facilities and expertise spanning energy, high-performance computing, cybersecurity, and grid technology. The ultimate goal is to ensure that America's rapidly growing AI infrastructure remains secure, efficient, and reliable, the lab says.

"Artificial intelligence is transforming every part of our society, but its energy appetite is unlike anything we've seen before," ORNL Director Stephen Streiffer stated.

"The electricity required to power AI datacenters is expected to double or triple in the coming decade, straining infrastructure that is already ...