Ok, can we actually cool data centers with our pee?

Liquid Death launched a cheeky marketing campaign with former NFL star Jason Kelce suggesting people pee on data centers to cool them, highlighting the massive water consumption of AI infrastructure.

While the ad is humorous, experts note that using treated wastewater—which includes urine—to cool data centers is a real and viable approach.

Michael Obradovitch of Ecolab confirms alternative water sources are already used to offset potable water demand, and Bruno Pigott of the WateReuse Association explains that wastewater can be cleaned and reused for cooling.

However, directly using raw urine would cause mineral deposits and fouling in cooling towers, requiring constant cleaning.

The article clarifies that large-scale urine collection isn't practical, but wastewater treatment with membrane bioreactors and reverse osmosis can produce recycled water for data center cooling.

This piece ties a viral marketing stunt to a serious sustainability topic relevant to AI's environmental footprint.