Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. (MHI) has demonstrated a measurable improvement in Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE) at the Fujitsu AKASHI Data Center, achieving a reduction in cooling energy consumption while maintaining stable operations. This initiative was conducted using multi-vendor infrastructure, adopting a holistic approach to cooling system control.
Traditionally, data center cooling optimization has focused on individual equipment. However, MHI's project applied system-level control across the entire cooling system, including shared cooling infrastructure and air handling units in server rooms. This approach has unlocked new energy savings potential and offers a scalable pathway to enhance efficiency in existing data centers.
With the global demand for data centers surging, energy consumption has become a significant constraint, as cooling systems account for over 60% of non-IT electricity use. The rise in AI workloads has further increased operational demands, challenging the effectiveness of existing energy-saving methods, particularly in multi-vendor environments.
A key differentiator of MHI's project was its deployment without service interruption. Utilizing vendor-agnostic cooling system optimization technology developed by MHI's Research & Innovation Center, the project identified temperature distribution in the server room as a critical bottleneck. By rebalancing airflow and managing air conditioning units, the temperature distribution improved by 2°C, providing substantial headroom for optimizing other cooling systems.
Through fine-tuning the operation points of shared cooling infrastructure and maintaining cooling water at an appropriate temperature, the project achieved a 2.3% energy reduction across the entire cooling system. Additionally, the energy efficiency (COP) of the centrifugal chillers increased by more than 1.2 points. When scaled across all server rooms, cooling system energy savings are projected to reach 7.6%, significantly enhancing overall PUE.
“Operational data centers need to improve energy efficiency while utilizing existing equipment,” said Shoji Yamasaki, General Manager of the Data Center & Energy Management Department at MHI. “This demonstration proves that system-level cooling optimization—especially in multi-vendor environments—can deliver tangible results under real operating conditions.”
Looking ahead, MHI plans to expand this approach, integrating decarbonized energy, resilient power systems, high-efficiency cooling, and advanced digital solutions to support sustainable and reliable data center operations worldwide.
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