OK, can we actually cool data centers with our pee?
- ID
- 16213
- Status
- summarized
- Published
- 21 Aug 2026, 4:53 AM
- Fetched
- 21 Aug 2026, 6:04 AM
- Provider
- TechCrunch
- Category
- technology
- Original URL
- https://techcrunch.com/2026/08/20/ok-can-we-actually-cool-data-centers-with-our-pee/
- Source URL
- https://techcrunch.com/feed/
Summary
- Score
- 4.5
- Created
- 21 Aug 2026, 6:07 AM
- Tags
- Audience
- developerssaas_foundersai_ml_learners
What happened
Liquid Death and former NFL player Jason Kelce ran a satirical campaign suggesting people's urine could cool AI data centers, but the article notes that recycled wastewater—including treated sewage and urine—is already used to offset potable water demand in data center cooling. Experts from Ecolab and the WateReuse Association confirm that treated wastewater is a real, growing practice, though you wouldn't use raw urine directly.
Why it matters
Data center water consumption is a scaling constraint as AI infrastructure grows, and Malaysia is a major SEA data center hub where water stress and utility competition could affect cloud pricing and availability. Founders building AI-heavy workloads should factor data center water sourcing into their cloud region choices and sustainability reporting, especially if serving enterprise customers with ESG requirements.
Discussion angle
As Malaysia expands its data center footprint (Johor, Cyberjaya), should local builders care about water sourcing behind their cloud credits, or is this purely a hyperscaler problem?