Alibaba releases data centre patents

Alibaba recently joined the Low Carbon Patent Pledge (LCPP). As a member, the Chinese tech giant will make nine patents available, focused on data centre sustainability.

As of now, ten corporations across 13 countries have pledged to share patented innovations openly, to support businesses across the industry in meeting their environmental goals.

These patents include:

Chilled water cooling system. The chilled water cooling system from Alibaba includes a natural cooling unit and a mechanical cooling unit. The mechanical unit is connected to the natural unit in parallel, “through a controllable connecting device.”

Data centre. The data centre patent includes a computer room, data centre, and infrastructure including a public area and a bridge. This design is for a data centre constructed in layers to enable directional hot air and cool air passage to improve efficiency.

Liquid cooling. The liquid cooling device incorporates a cabinet and a partially-immersed liquid cooling system with a meter. When the liquid cooling medium reaches a certain point, as measured by the meter, it is automatically refilled from a connected storage box.

The LCPP was created to encourage technology companies to band together, to make key patents available to any interested party to accelerate the adoption of low-carbon technologies. Patents available for sharing are those that include “the generation, storage, and distribution of low carbon energy.”

The LCPP was founded on Earth Day 2021 by Hewlett-Packard, Meta (formerly Facebook), and Microsoft. By joining the pledge, companies state that they “believe in being a force for good by encouraging open innovation to create a more sustainable future. (They) encourage the use of low-carbon technologies by making our energy-saving innovations available to everyone for free through this patent pledge.”

“We believe technology innovation is a key driver in transitioning to the low-carbon circular economy of the future. As a pioneer and global technology leader, we are committed to taking broader social responsibility to use technology to level the playing field and to empower the wider social groups, creating long-term value. We are excited to join the pledge as a way to encourage a collective approach to build a sustainable and inclusive future for the society and environment through open collaboration, joint innovations and mutual inspiration.” said Dr. Chen Long, Vice President of Alibaba Group and Chair of Alibaba’s Sustainability Steering Committee.