Yplasma zaps the air to cool chips for data centers.
Créditos de la imagen: mailsonpignata / 500px / Getty Images
Si no lo supieras, podrías pensar que es magia.
David Garcia le dio a TechCrunch una demostración en video de un dispositivo desarrollado por su empresa, Yplasma. Una fila de cinco velas se colocan frente a un dispositivo similar a un armónica con cables colgando. De repente, las llamas parpadean y luego se apagan.
Dentro del dispositivo, dos tiras de cobre con corriente eléctrica generan plasma, o nubes de partículas cargadas, que inducen un flujo de aire a través de la cavidad y hacia afuera sobre las velas.
No es nada que un ventilador no pueda hacer, pero el actuador de Yplasma no tiene partes móviles, y las tiras son delgadas y flexibles.
“Es barato de fabricar, es muy delgado, por lo que se ajusta en cualquier lugar, y también consume muy poca energía,” Garcia le dijo a TechCrunch.
Un pequeño ventilador en una laptop podría usar 3 a 4 vatios, dijo Garcia, pero el actuador de Yplasma solo usaría 1 vatio para enfriar la misma cantidad. Además, su forma flexible significa que es más fácil de ajustar en dispositivos electrónicos cada vez más espacios.
Esas cualidades han llamado la atención de un importante fabricante de semiconductores, dijo.
Para refinar sus actuadores, Yplasma recently raised a $2.5 million seed round led by Faber with participation from SOSV, the company exclusively told TechCrunch. As part of the deal, Yplasma will run its research and development out of SOSV’s Hax lab space in Newark, New Jersey, and offices in Madrid. The company was spun out of Spain’s space agency, INTA.
The ability to manipulate air using nothing but electrical forces has a wide range of applications. Based on Yplasma’s website, that could include vehicle aerodynamics, satellite propulsion, aircraft deicing, water harvesting, and more.
In fact, the startup’s initial target market was wind turbines. There, being able to control airflow and reduce drag can boost the amount of electricity one generates by 10% to 15%, Garcia said. Plus, the plasma actuators can also be configured to generate heat, helping to de-ice turbine blades.
“In North America and other parts of the world, ice is a problem. For wind turbines, 20% of the energy is lost because of that,” he said.
Yplasma is still working on a product for wind turbines, and it’s going to deploy a test at Sandia National Laboratory this summer. But Garcia said that after a project with the semiconductor manufacturer proved successful, Yplasma started devoting more attention to chip cooling.
The company is closely studying the data center market, too. Cooling is one of the biggest non-compute expenses in a data center, so improving the effectiveness and efficiency would help bolster the bottom line.
“There’s nothing between fans and liquid cooling or immersive cooling, and immersive and liquid cooling is super expensive,” Garcia said. “They’re hungry for cooling solutions.”