Amazon Web Services (AWS) just struck a multi-year partnership with Orbital Materials, a US-based company that specializes in artificial intelligence. The goal? To develop technologies that will help reduce the carbon footprint of AWS’s data centers.
Orbital Materials, which started in 2022, has its own AI platform called Orb. This platform allows for the design, creation, and testing of advanced materials and technologies aimed at combating climate change. Their first major invention is a technology for direct air capture. Essentially, it pulls carbon dioxide directly from the air using a unique active material.
AWS plans to implement a large-scale pilot of this direct air capture technology at its data centers to lower its Scope 3 emissions. According to an official statement, AWS will collaborate with Orbital to leverage its AI platform for creating and testing advanced materials that can support carbon removal, cooling systems, and water efficiency in data centers.
Traditionally, creating advanced materials is a slow-moving process filled with trial and error. Orb’s generative AI speeds things up, helping discover and commercialize new materials faster. In a nice bonus for AWS customers, Orbital will also make its platform available on the AWS Marketplace and through the Amazon SageMaker JumpStart hub. This resource gives customers easy access to foundational models and pre-built machine learning tools.
Jonathan Godwin, CEO of Orbital, highlighted how their technology can enhance AWS’s environmental efforts. He believes their collaboration will bring advanced solutions for making data centers more efficient and sustainable.
Additionally, they plan to leverage AWS’s infrastructure, such as the Amazon SageMaker HyperPod, to pre-train and refine their models. Orbital is also looking at using AWS’s custom silicon, Trainium, to boost the performance of their deep learning tasks.
Howard Gefen, General Manager of AWS Energy and Utilities, expressed excitement about the opportunities this partnership brings. By combining Orb with Amazon SageMaker JumpStart and the AWS Marketplace, they aim to promote sustainable innovation in the industry and achieve new benchmarks for carbon removal and operational efficiency.