RenewIT Project is co-financed by the Seventh Framework programme of the European community (FP7/2007-2013) under grant agreement nº 608679
THE PROJECT - OBJECTIVES
SCIENTIFIC OBJECTIVES
The main objective of the RenewIT project is to develop a simulation tool to evaluate the energy performance of different technical solution integrating RES in several European climate regions. The public RenewIT tool will be implemented in a user-friendly web interface helping actors from both the energy and IT sectors to reduce the carbon footprint of planned Data Centres in the horizon of 2030. The tool is based on selected meta-models extracted from advanced dynamic simulation models of challenging energy concepts for renewable energy supply of Data Centres.
SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES
Objective 1
To develop management algorithms for virtualised Data Centres in a Cloud ecosystem
This objective aims to develop management algorithms for virtualised Data Centres in a Cloud ecosystem running heterogeneous workloads that optimize their operation with respect to energy performance or useful work in function of the energy consumed and ecological efficiency.
Objective 2
To define common and harmonized metrics
The RenewIT project aims to contribute to a common understanding of existing metrics towards the establishment of a consistent approach for the energy evaluation of a Data Centre from the points of view of infrastructures, equipment and IT workload management, including renewables.
Objective 3
To develop an high quality system for Data Centres energy monitoring
The RenewIT project will develop a monitoring systems specifically customized to evaluate the Data Centres performance. Modularity and scalability will be two main features of this new concept of monitoring system in order to guarantee a proper evaluation of the energy performance of the Data Centre regardless of what is the technology used to produce the energy which feeds the data centres or used to increase its energy efficiency.
Objective 4
To develop concepts and technical solutions for renewable energy supply
The development of advanced concepts and technical solutions for the efficient and renewable energy supply of Data Centres is the key objective of RenewIT. In several cases, the novelty will be based in the integration under a holistic approach of already existing technologies with the objective of achieving a massive penetration of renewable energy supply. Regarding the different situations in Europe, different concepts for generation, re-cooling, heat recovery, storage, distribution and renewable energy generation need to be provided.
Objective 5
To develop dynamic energy modelling
Once the conceptual technical solutions has been developed, there is a need for developing advanced dynamic energy models of the proposed cooling supply and heat recovery systems for Data Centres. The models are a must to evaluate the potential of each technical solution. Each technical solution will be assessed by means of a multi-dimensional analysis, considering the multiple factors with relevant impact over the environmental performance figures considering also the climate, workload and other.
Objective 6
To develop a planning software tool
A new tool, the RenewIT Tool, will be developed based on meta-models extracted from the advanced dynamic energy models developed in the framework of the project.
This tool will be the first software tool specifically dedicated to the evaluation of energy efficiency measures and renewable energy solutions potential in Data Centres, and given this, it will be conceived as a fast and simple prefeasibility analysis that can be used by a wide public, coming both from the engineering and IT sectors. Figure 2 represents schematically the conceptual framework of the RenewIT tool.
Objective 7
To validate the RTD results and the simulation tools
Verification of the proposed concepts and software tools will be performed through several forms of validation. Development of green management algorithms and heat re-use concepts will be validated at laboratory scales using the micro Data Centre test bench. Novel technical solutions proposed will be validated though the dynamic energy models. These will be partially validated with real information of Data Centres where actual information will be available, as they constitute the case studies for the project. RenewIT tool will be validated based on the dynamic complete energy models. RenewIT project will perform energy simulations to a complete set of scenarios, based in real cases. These simulations will collect conclusions to better plan, design and operate the identified technical solutions.
Objective 8
To disseminate the RTD results and project outcomes
Effective dissemination is essential to maximize the technical, social and economic impact foreseen by the RenewIT consortium in order to help the development of energy efficiency and renewable energy for data centres. The communication of the project outcomes and their benefits should be focused and addressed to the target markets and communities, in order to create awareness of the RenewIT and other outcomes and interest towards the new developments related to energy efficiency and renewability for data centres.
THE PROJECT - WORKPLAN
The structure of project work packages (WPs) is conceived to efficiently organise the work plan and oriented to the RenewIT objectives. There are eight WPs: Two of them are responsible for project management (WP1) and dissemination, exploitation and standardisation activities (WP8) and the rest ones have technical character (WP2 to WP7). Figure 3 shows the structure of the WP and the relationship between them.
WP1
The overall objective of this WP is to perform the overall management of the administrative, financial and quality assessment activities of the project.
WP2
This WP will develop management algorithms for Data Centres in a Cloud ecosystem which optimises their operation with respect to energy.
WP3
This WP aims at designing a high quality system for Data Centres energy monitoring. The monitoring system will be used not only to evaluate the energy efficiency of computing modules and data centre facilities but also to evaluate the effect of the integration of renewables, energy recovery systems and innovative cooling systems.
WP4
This WP will investigate and develop advanced concepts and technical solutions for the efficient, renewable and cost-effective energy supply of Data Centres.
WP5
This WP is focused on developing advanced energy system models of the proposed RES systems and heat recovery systems to be integrated in Data Centres. Through the use of these models, the potential of each solution will be assessed by means of a multi-dimensional analysis, considering the multiple factors.
WP6
This WP aims to provide a public tool, the RenewIT tool, for assessing the energy consumption on Data Centres.
WP 7
In this WP the RenewIT tool and the models of the energy systems will be tested and implemented in different Data Centres case studies as a way of validating the results of the other WPs.
WP8
This WP will disseminate the results of the project to carefully selected target communities.
THE PROJECT - PARTNERS
The RenewIT consortium (Figure 4) shows a good balance between experience and knowledge, companies and public and research organizations and IT and energy specialist partners. Participants were chosen taking into account their expertise, knowledge and profile in order to create a strong consortium representing the excellence in research activities in the field of IT and energy, and specially, in the Data Centres and internet energy efficiency and renewable.
IREC is the leading research centre in energy in Catalonia, constituted as Foundation with the participation of the Catalan regional government (Generalitat de Catalunya), the Spanish Ministries of Industry and Science & Innovation, the Univ. of Barcelona, the Polytechnic Univ. of Catalonia, the Univ. Rovira Virgili and private companies from the energy sector. Created in 2008, the Institute constitutes a research organization committed to carry out, promote, spread, transfer and improve research activities in the energy and environment sectors of knowledge and of their applications. It specializes in researching and developing technology in connection with energy savings and efficiency and with renewable energies.
The research group of IREC that will participate in the project is the Thermal Energy and Building Performance Group. The group has wide expertise in building and energy systems dynamic simulation and offers state-of-the-art experimental laboratory facilities for evaluating and improving the performance of emerging energy technologies and building thermal/electrical components under realistic dynamic conditions. The laboratory, named SEILAB, is provided with cutting-edge technology comprising systems for energy generation, heat and cool storage and state-of-the-art facilities for testing HVAC equipment and the interaction of energy systems with the grid.
IREC will act as coordinator of the project and will be responsible of the scientific and financial management of the project. IREC will also lead the objective of developing the RenewIT Tool and the deployment of the micro Data Centre test bench in the SEILAB laboratory.
BSC is the Spanish National Supercomputing Center. The mission of the BSC is to research, develop, and manage information technologies in order to facilitate scientific progress. The BSC strives not only to become a first-class research centre in supercomputing, but also in scientific fields that demand high performance computing resources such as the Life and Earth Sciences. Following this approach, the BSC has brought together a critical mass of top-notch researchers, high performance computing experts and cutting-edge supercomputing technologies in order to foster multidisciplinary scientific collaboration and innovation.
BSC builds on previous experience in international and cooperative research projects by CEPBA-UPC, including R&D (NANOS, POP, DAMIEN) management of Technology Transfer (PACOS, TTN). BSC has recently been involved in projects related to Grid and Clouds (CoreGRID, BEinGRID, BREIN, SORMA, XtreemOS, and OPTIMIS) and is also involved in projects related to infrastructure (DEISA, PRACE, and VENUS-C), standardization (OGF-Europe and SIENA) and mobility or researchers (HPC-Europa). Since its creation, BSC has been able to gain a respected position within top HPC service and research institutions.
BSC has previous experience on self-management techniques for optimizing the execution of Cloud providers with heterogeneous workloads. We combine both technical and business information to manage provider’s resources in the most efficient way depending on the environment conditions and provider’s interests. In addition, we have strong background on virtualization in these environments.
BSC contribution to this project is oriented to manage Data Centres during operation aiming to maximize energy and ecological efficiency. According to this, BSC will lead WP2, and will contribute in the rest of WPs.
Loccioni will lead the Work Package 3 bringing the solution and expertise for the integration of the data collection, storage and presentation to the final users. Loccioni will also present one of the case study in which the solutions developed within the project will be tested. Finally, it will also actively contribute in WP1, WP4 and WP6 sharing its expertise in the field of renewable energy sources, energy saving solutions and systems integration.
There are almost 40 young researchers at Loccioni Group, professionals and scientists who are devoted to the development of cross solutions by integrating innovative technologies. Innovation management, advanced sensing, robotics, artificial intelligence and energy management are the topics upon which high level networks are created. The involvement in European, National and in-house research projects permits to meet market macrotrends of the next future, along with the innate commitment of improving the quality of life.
An example is Agora, the solution for energy efficiency in Data Centres developed by Loccioni Group, which integrates efficient computer room air conditioning, IT solutions and a performance monitoring system.
Loccioni will lead the Work Package 3 bringing the solution and expertise for the integration of the data collection, storage and presentation to the final users. Loccioni will also present one of the case study in which the solutions developed within the project will be tested. Finally, it will also actively contribute in WP1, WP4 and WP6 sharing its expertise in the field of renewable energy sources, energy saving solutions and systems integration.
AIGUASOL was formed in the beginning of 1999 by a group of researchers of the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC), Laboratory for Thermal Engineering and Energetics with now thirteen years of experience in fields related with the present project: energy efficiency consultancy, energy systems engineering, renewable energy and dynamic simulation of energy systems.
The dynamic simulation of thermal systems is key since usually it is the basic starting point for an informed decision, whatever the specific project may be. For this reason, good knowledge of those complex tools is fundamental, and AIGUASOL is the representative of the well-known solar systems simulation program TRNSYS for Spain and Portugal. With the aim to increase the quality of the projects and offer solutions to the user needs, AIGUASOL has leaded the development of new products as TRANSCLIMA and TRANSOL (a software for simulation of solar thermal systems for DHW, space heating, cooling and industrial processes). AIGUASOL has a wide experience in R+D public founded projects, both at European and national or regional level: since 2001, with the EU-research project POSHIP – a potential study for solar process heat in industry– it has participated in 10 different projects from FP5, FP6, FP7 and IEE, in areas that go from the urban planning to the financial viability of ESCo model in renewable energy implementation or potential of solar cooling system, to cite some. Those are very different fields of knowledge, and a reflect of the complementary nature of the Aiguasol team, that aims to offer complete solutions to its customers with an integral approach, from conception to commissioning. Aiguasol has participated in several Tasks of the International Energy Agency and is member of the Steering Committee of the ESTTP (European Solar Thermal Technology Platform, currently integrated in RHC platform).
Main role of Aiguasol in the project will be to lead WP5 about energy modelling and contribute actively to WP4 and WP6, bringing its expertise in the development of advanced energy concepts and software tools, respectively.
TUC. The Chair for Technical Thermodynamics at the Chemnitz University of Technology traces back to the Institute of Applied Thermodynamics and Laboratory of Machines founded by Prof. Dr.-Ing. habil. Häussler in 1956. The main concern of the chair is the examination of fundamental phenomena of the transport of the impulse, thermal energy and material. Besides fundamental questions (e.g. influence of the thermal energy transport on the flow stability), application-oriented tasks from the fields of rational utilisation of energy, thermal solar technology, thermotechnical processes and appliances are examined as well. The Chair for Technical Thermodynamics belongs to the basic chairs at the Department of Mechanical Engineering and holds the basic lecture “Technical Thermodynamics”.
The division “Thermal Energy Storage” at the chair deals with the development and improvement of large thermal storages (e.g. above-ground storage tanks, underground pit storages). The storages are used in district cooling and district heating systems (CHP or with additional solar heat). Main topics are: charging and discharging systems, investigation of the thermal behaviour, integration of storages into existing systems, optimal planning/design, optimal operation, reduction of investment costs. In order to reach the goals, the following methods are applied (often combined): numerical simulation of heat and mass transfer, plant simulation, experiments in the lab, monitoring of storages and systems. Including students, between 10 and 20 people are dealing with storage-specific topics.
TUC will lead the development of advanced integrated energy systems for Data Centres in WP4 and contributes actively to the rest of the WPs, especially bringing their expertise in energy modelling (WP5) and in the validation part of the project about heat re-use (WP2) and through case studies (WP7).
451 Research (UK) Ltd., a division of The 451 Group, is a leading syndicated research, advisory and professional services firm. 451 Research provides syndicated research, advisory and professional services to clients worldwide. The mission of 451 Research is to provide critical and timely insight into the market and competitive dynamics of innovation in emerging technology segments. 451 Research's market segment coverage is focused, organized and delivered through comprehensive Practice Areas available via subscription.
Current 451 Research Practice Areas include: CloudScape, Data Centre Technologies, Eco-Efficient IT, Enterprise Security, Hosting/Managed Services, Infrastructure Computing for Enterprise, Information Management, Multi-Tenant Data Centre and Open Source. Clients of 451 Research — at end-user, service-provider, vendor, and investor organizations — rely on our insight and data to support both strategic and tactical decision-making. 451 Research and its customers benefit from the combined assets and talent of The 451 Group and its two divisions: 451 Research and Uptime Institute, along with those from our acquisitions including Tier 1 Research, TheInfoPro and ChangeWave Research.
451 Research has relevant Expertise in EU projects being participating in the projects FP7 CoolEmAll (Platform for optimising the design and operation of modular configurable IT infrastructures and facilities with resource-efficient cooling, 2011-2014), FP7 BonFIRE (Building service testbeds on FIRE, 2010-2013) ,FP7 OPTIMIS (Optimized Infrastructure Services, 2010-2013) and FP7 SmartLM, 2008-2011
451 Research will lead the dissemination, exploitation and standardisation tasks in WP8 and contribute with its expertise and knowledge over the IT market in most of the WPs of the project.
Deerns, one of the largest engineering consultancy firms specialized in M&E design, has extensive experience in data centres, specializing in data centre facilities of large financial institutions, large internet service providers and telecommunication companies. The total white space area of our international data centre projects exceeds 250,000 m2 and 700 MW of IT power capacity.
Deerns have successfully realized a full package of services for the development of innovative and energy efficient data centres. Based on our extensive experience, we have developed many innovations and new management and control concepts. We consolidate our expertise in our dedicated International Data Centre Practice. Hence, we have the consultants and engineers that can handle the specific, innovative and critical nature of data centre projects, and we are aware of the most recent business and technological developments in the market. Deerns has its headquarters in Rijswijk, The Hague region, 5 branche offices in the Netherlands, and offices in Koln, Berlin, Milan, Paris, London , Barcelona and in Denver USA and Dubai.
Main role of Deerns will be take the leadership of WP7, that is the validation of the RTD results through case studies based in current projects and running Data Centres. Also, will contribute to the rest of the WPs bringing his knowledge from the Data Centres market and past experiences in the field.
