How much water does AI use?

Hinzugefügt: 2026-06-07

[00:00:00]You know how you always hear that data centers use so much water? Well, let me give you a real-life example of how it works. This is an AI data center in London. And the reason I'm bellowing is because the fans are going full tilt to cool these servers. The cooling is also happening down here with these pipes.

[00:00:16]But you wouldn't know how much water is involved with them.

[00:00:18]Actually, none at all because they're filled with a special chemical coolant which takes the heat from the servers and brings it all the way down over here where it's cooled by, yes, water. These pipes are full of river water from the Thames. We're actually under the Thames right now. And if you come over here, this is the system which transfers the heat from the coolant to the river water.

[00:00:41]I mean, this is crazy. You can actually listen, you can actually hear it gurgling up there.

[00:00:46]That is mad, right? And if you come over here, look, I'll show you.

[00:00:50]These are the big pumps which draw the water in from the Thames. Obviously, multiple pumps because if this system goes down even for a brief moment, then financial customers could stand to lose billions of pounds. So, the water comes in, it's heated up by 1 or 2 degrees, and leaves again, and goes back into the Thames. And that's why when I asked the CTO of this data center exactly how much water they use, he said, >> Actually, zero. Um it's kind of a tricky question. We actually pull water in from the Thames River and we actually put it right back out.

[00:01:20]>> And is there any kind of pollution problem with putting it back?

[00:01:23]>> It's a very tight degree that we've worked with the local municipality to make sure we return it at a couple of degrees warmer than we take it in.