The rise of artificial intelligence, cloud platforms, and data processing is driving a steady increase in global data center electricity consumption. While running computer servers accounts for the largest share of data center energy use, cooling systems come in second—but a new study by researchers at the National Laboratory of the Rockies (NLR), formerly known as NREL, offers a potential solution to reduce peak energy consumption.

Published in Applied Energy, a techno-economic analysis led by Hyunjun Oh, David Sickinger, and Diana Acero-Allard—researchers in NLR’s energy storage and computational science groups—has demonstrated a system to cool data centers more efficiently and cost-effectively.

The approach, called reservoir thermal energy storage (RTES), stores cold energy underground then uses it to cool facilities during peak-demand periods.

Foxconn, one of NVIDIA’s largest supply chain partners, has reportedly received orders for AI clusters around Google’s TPUs, marking a significant shift for the Taiwanese manufacturer.

There’s no doubt that the buzz around ASICs, especially after the release of Google’s latest Ironwood TPU platform, has become increasingly mainstream. More importantly, Google’s TPUs are rumored to be on the verge of adoption among several companies, with a notable name being Meta. This is why TPUs are evolving into a platform that is now targeting external adoption. According to a report by the Taiwan Economic Daily, Foxconn has received orders for Google’s TPU compute trays and will also collaborate on Google’s ‘Intrinsic’ robotics plans.

But what if we’re in a “rational bubble” that, unlike other big speculative manias in history, takes our economy to a fundamentally better place?

I’m borrowing the phrase “rational bubble” from conversations with a Nobel laureate in economics, my friend A. Michael Spence. Bubbles seem by definition irrational. They grow as investors — often hostage to exuberant, herd-like behavior — push valuations well beyond anything warranted by the fundamentals on the ground.

However, the A.I. excitement, as seen in the blowout Nvidia earnings on Wednesday, rightly reflects the potential transformation of the entire economy. It is economically rational to risk losing everything on several bets if just a few can deliver a thousandfold return, which some A.I. investments almost certainly will.