ATL Standard

A new liquid cooling system developed at Georgia Tech presents a solution to the overheating problem in electronics and high-performance computing. The innovative system was created by Georgia Tech graduate Daniel Lorenzini, who completed his Ph.D. in mechanical engineering in 2019. Utilizing microfluidic channels, the technology is designed to be integrated within chip packaging to improve heat dissipation directly at the source.

“Traditional cooling methods, such as fans or heat sinks, often struggle to keep pace with the increasing demands of the newer model electronics,” Lorenzini noted. The liquid cooling solution is integrated into electronic components, making it more efficient than conventional methods used previously.

Lorenzini collaborated with Georgia Tech’s VentureLab to launch EMCOOL, a startup headquartered in Norcross, and was awarded a patent for this technology in September 2024. EMCOOL is working to secure venture capital funding to expand its technology to meet the growing thermal management challenges posed by AI processors in modern data centers.

"Our solution directly addresses the heat at the source of the silicon chip and therefore makes it faster," Lorenzini stated. His system features a cooling block equipped with micro-pin fins and a special thermal interface material. This design ensures efficient fluid flow and optimal heat dissipation at the chip scale.

Jonathan Goldman, director of Quadrant-i in Tech’s Office of Commercialization, supported Lorenzini in securing grant funding through the National Science Foundation and the Georgia Research Alliance. “We immediately had the sense there was commercial potential here,” said Goldman. He further explained the intended focus on the $159 billion global electronic gaming market and potential expansion into other sectors such as telecommunications and energy systems.

“This work propels us forward in pushing the boundaries of what traditional cooling technologies can achieve,” Goldman commented. EMCOOL's microfluidics-based systems present a compact and energy-efficient approach to heat management, potentially revolutionizing industries reliant on high-performance computing.