Toward Sustainable HPC: Carbon Footprint Estimation and Environmental Implications of HPC Systems

Baolin Li, Rohan Basu Roy, Daniel Wang, Siddharth Samsi, Vijay Gadepally, Devesh Tiwari

Abstract: The rapid growth in demand for HPC systems has led to a rise in carbon footprint, which requires urgent intervention. In this work, we present a comprehensive analysis of the carbon footprint of highperformance computing (HPC) systems, considering the carbon footprint during both the hardware manufacturing and system operational stages. Our work employs HPC hardware component carbon footprint modeling, regional carbon intensity analysis, and experimental characterization of the system life cycle to highlight the importance of quantifying the carbon footprint of HPC systems.