Two multinational corporations have announced a new collaboration to create energy-efficient and sustainable solutions for data centers as the market experiences significant growth.  ExxonMobil and Intel are working to design, test, research and develop new liquid cooling technologies to optimize data center performance and help customers meet their sustainability goals. Liquid cooling solutions serve as an alternative to traditional air-cooling methods in data centers.  “Our partnership with ExxonMobil to co-develop turnkey solutions for liquid cooling will enable significant energy and water savings for data center and network deployments,” said Jen Huffstetler, Chief Product Sustainability Officer, Intel.  According to consulting firm McKinsey, “a hyperscaler’s data center can use as much power as 80,000 households do,” and that demand is expected to keep surging. Power consumption by the U.S. data center market is forecasted “to reach 35 gigawatts (GW) by 2030, up from 17 GW in 2022,” according to a McKinsey analysis. Artificial intelligence and machine learning, and other advanced computing techniques are increasing computational workloads, and in return, increasing electricity demand. Therefore, companies are searching for solutions to support this growth.   ExxonMobil launched its full portfolio of data center immersion fluid products last year. The partnership with Intel will allow them to further advance their efforts in this market.  “By integrating ExxonMobil’s proven expertise in liquid cooling technologies with Intel’s long legacy of industry leadership in world-changing computing technologies, together we will further the industry’s adoption and acceptance as it transitions to liquid cooling technologies,” said Sarah Horne, Vice President, ExxonMobil.  Learn more about Houston's Energy Transition Initiative. 

HOUSTON (May 1, 2024) – The Greater Houston Partnership has promoted Craig Rhodes, an 18-year economic development veteran, as its new Senior Vice President, Economic Development. Rhodes has been with the Partnership for 12 years, most recently as Vice President, Regional Economic Development.  In this new role, Rhodes will lead domestic and international economic development and trade efforts for the Partnership, reporting directly to President and CEO Steve Kean.  Since 2020, Rhodes has led the Partnership’s regional economic development team, resulting in 69 regional expansion and relocation projects creating more than 13,000 and retaining more than 6,000 jobs with capital expenditures of $4.3B. “In my time at the Partnership I have been impressed with our domestic and international economic development work and especially with Craig’s leadership, strategic thinking, and execution,” said Steve Kean, President and CEO of the Partnership. “I’m confident he will lead our economic development efforts at the Partnership well and continue the great work with our regional economic development partners through the Houston Region Economic Development Alliance (HREDA).  The HREDA effort in particular, is a hallmark of Craig’s collaborative style and is a great demonstration of the “power of together” that we display every day in the Greater Houston area.” Rhodes was part of the Partnership’s economic development team from 2006-2014. From 2014-2020, he worked on the economic development team at CenterPoint Energy, supporting new growth across the greater Houston region. Rhodes returned to the Partnership in 2020. He served as Chair of the Houston Regional Economic Development Alliance (HREDA) from 2017-2022 and expanded the scope of HREDA for the betterment of the 12-county Houston region. He has also served on the Board of Directors for the Texas Economic Development Council and the Utility Economic Development Association. He is an active member of the International Economic Development Council and has held numerous Board and leadership roles in economic development across the Houston area.  Rhodes received a Bachelor of Business Administration in Marketing from The University of Texas at Austin in 2001 and earned his Certified Economic Development, CEcD, certification from the International Economic Development Council in 2015. He and his wife Kristi have three children.