Steve Jobs had a weird obsession: computer fans. The damn things whirr, eat electricity and get covered in cobwebs. He eliminated fans in Apple’s laptops whenever he could.

The datacentre industry has the same problem. The servers get seriously hot, and the current approach is to add more and more fans. They cost a ton of money, regularly need servicing, and powering them destroys any claim to being green.

The answer is Iceotope’s liquid cooling.

Developed with support from key partners including 3M and the University of Leeds, the Sheffield-based firm has a patented liquid cooling system which is far cheaper, far greener, and far more quiet than any fan configuration.

Is it a big deal?

Of course it is. The datacentre industry’s CO2 emissions are set to be on par with that of the airline industry within a few years’ time and energy consumption continues to grow at 19 per cent per annum. Furthermore, the UK is believed to have the greatest concentration of datacentres on the planet at over seven million sq ft, consuming more than 6.4 GW of power per year (equivalent to six million households).

Founded in 2012, Iceotope is designed, engineered and manufactured in Great Britain.