IBM leads Green Sigma Coalition

SAN FRANCISCO, USA: As the world has become more and more conscious about the necessity of going green, IT major IBM has taken an initiative to form an alliance to improve energy, water, waste and greenhouse gas management through interoperability. The Green Sigma coalition applies Lean Six Sigma principles and practices to these areas.

IBM said it is teaming with ABB, Cisco, Eaton, ESS, Honeywell Building Solutions, Johnson Controls, SAP, Schneider Electric, and Siemens Building Technologies Division to create the Green Sigma Coalition.

The coalition members will work with IBM to integrate their products and services with IBM's Green Sigma solution.

"Businesses, governments and people everywhere have expressed their desire to make more efficient use of energy and natural resources," said Rich Lechner, IBM vice president for Energy and the Environment.

"They are investing in making systems intelligent by building smarter and greener buildings, IT infrastructures, supply chains, and other business operations, as well as utility and water systems. With today's announcements, we signal our clear desire to partner with them every step of the way."

IBM made the announcements recently in support of its Green and Beyond Summit for Industry Leaders at the California Academy of Sciences.

"As we all work toward creating a greener, smarter planet, it is plain that none of us can get there alone," observed Lechner.

Water-cooled supercomputer

In another statement, IBM announced plans to build a first-of-a-kind water-cooled supercomputer that will re-purpose excess heat for the university buildings. IBM is planning this in collaboration with The Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich (ETH).

A press release said the water-cooled supercomputer will repurpose excess heat for the university buildings.

The system, named "Aquasar", is expected to decrease the carbon footprint of the Institute by up to 85 percent, which is equivalent to 30 tons of CO2 per year, compared to a similar system using today's cooling technologies, it added.

The water-cooled supercomputer will consist of two IBM BladeCenter servers with 22 Cell blades and 6 Intel blades with Nehalem processor and will have a peak performance of about 10 Teraflops.

IBM Research also unveiled a new long-term research initiative to spur the creation of next-generation rechargeable batteries capable of storing 10 times more energy than today's most powerful Lithium-ion batteries.

Eventually, this technology could power smarter energy grids, support widespread use of electric cars, and more, said IBM.