2026 Webinar: Cooling the AI Boom with the Ground Beneath It

As part of the Australian Geothermal Association's webinar series, Martin Pujol, Senior Hydrogeological Engineer at JRG Energy, explored the use of groundwater cooling to create greener data centres, looking at a case study in Johor, Malaysia, and possible applications in Australia.

In Johor in Malaysia, 700 MW of data centre are under construction but local water authorities have stopped approving projects due to limited water resources and surging demand. These challenges are not just in Malaysia and will start to pop up in Australia too. A data centre with negligible water use was actually designed, built and commissioned in 2013 and has been operating for more than 10 years using direct on-chip cooling technology coupled with groundwater cooling. Could this be a template for greener data centres in Australia?

Presenter:

Martin Pujol is a senior hydrogeological engineer specialised in reservoir engineering (geothermal) with more than 15 years of experience. He specialises in reservoir assessment, well testing analysis, modelling, hydrogeology, deep water well and geothermal project feasibility and execution, and technical due diligence for geothermal and lithium projects. Martin has provided strategic advice to developers, investors, and government officials. His career includes roles at CFG Services in France, Rockwater in Australia and he has been JRG's Reservoir & Direct-use Lead since 2023. He was promoted to the role of CTO in 2026. He has worked on geothermal projects in USA, Canada, Chile, Dominica, France, Denmark, Italy, Kenya, Djibouti, Rwanda, Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, Malaysia, The Phillipines, New Zealand and Australia. Martin is also on the board of directors for the Australian Geothermal Association.

AGA Members have access to a recording of the presentation and the slide deck in the section below.