Big Blue has announced details of another big green strategy - this time, based around a supercomputer that is cooled by water rather than air. The IBM Power 575 supercomputer uses water-chilled copper plates located above each microprocessor to remove heat.

Traditional, power-hungry data centres that demand high levels of cooling are one of the IT department's biggest source of carbon emissions. For technology leaders looking for a green alternative, IBM scientists estimate water can be up to 4,000 times more effective than air-cooled computer systems.

The press release states the water-cooled Power 575 requires 80 per cent fewer air conditioning units and can reduce typical energy consumption in the data centre by 40 per cent. Nice work - but the most interesting part of the release concerns continuing developments by IBM's Zurich Research Laboratory and its aim to create a 'zero-emissions data centre':

The IBM Research team is working on the next steps: getting the water even closer to the chip - not with a copper plate, but actually inside the chip. Then, once captured there, the water can be routed out of the computer and pumped into the heating system for re-use.

Chips with water? For IT managers looking to act green, they might even be tastier than chips with curry sauce. And that is saying something.

• Read more about the research project: http://www.zurich.ibm.com/news/08/zed.html
• Read more about IBM's Project Big Green strategy: http://www.computing.co.uk/2196219

Further reading: Reuse and recycling Top 10

1. Recycle? WEEE don't undertsand the rules, stupid
2. Computer Aid shows how to beat the green wash
3. Cure for green computing overkill is the real deal
4. Green computing hype needs smarter approach
5. Green computing is not crucial for CIOs
6. The green IT rules from Forrester and Gartner
7. JP Rangaswami says green computing drives BT
8. SMEs lead the way on green computing
9. Green computing is a pipe dream for IT managers
10. CIOs could learn from the green actions of SMEs

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Want to contact the writer? Email Mark Samuels