Carbon Dioxide (CO₂) has been harnessed in the UK as a pioneering, electrically benign, risk-free and environmentally friendly cooling alternative for blade server data centres, making it a world-first in this IT application. As CO₂ is an abundantly available resource, successfully meeting World Health Organisation (WHO) regulations for refrigerants, it seems the inevitable future of mission critical cooling in enterprise.

Much like the unprecedented success of mobile phone technology, the revolution of CO₂ promises unrivalled output capacity and space-saving benefits compared to traditional air and chilled water systems, enabling 30kW per equipment cabinet; 50 per cent more than its competitors.

Experts estimate a possible increase to more than 40kW within the next 12 months; reason enough to encourage the current market to focus on load per cabinet, not load per square metre.

As cost and risk management are both key considerations for consolidating priceless data storage, future-proofing businesses is increasingly a top-level management priority. In an ironically risk-averse market, IT giants need to rethink how cooling is driving the success of the IT sector, not vice versa. With one kilogram of CO₂ absorbing seven times more energy than water, the future of data cooling is sealed.

The system's principal philosophy is to employ heat absorption rather than conventional cooling - creating a more intrinsically resilient and energy-efficient solution.

Trox Advanced IT Cooling Systems (AITCS), inventors and patent-holders of the cooling system, in collaboration with CO₂ refrigeration partner, Star Refrigeration, installed the first-ever 'CO₂OLrac system' in the world-renowned Imperial College London.

The storage centre was completed in December 2005. Kieran Mc Daid, Senior Projects Manager at Imperial College, said: "We have been impressed with the professionalism of Trox AITCS and Star Refrigeration in bringing this new and innovative product to market."

Guy Hutchins, Sales and Marketing Director of Trox AITCS, said: "We have received extraordinary levels of interest worldwide, particularly from major investment banks, healthcare facilities and broadcast institutions. The radical design will provide a vital tool for many industries that rely on storing and processing large quantities of critical data, driving their need for blade technology."