June 5, 2008 – Hewlett-Packard is looking to develop new markets for its green IT products, funding new technology research aimed at boosting datacenter energy efficiency by 75%.

HP Labs, the company’s research arm, has launched a long-term initiative to develop new technologies and business models that reduce IT energy consumption and leave a lighter carbon footprint. The unit recently refocused its efforts “to address the most complex challenges facing technology customers in the next decade,” according to HP.

HP Labs will focus its sustainability research on developing datacenter technologies that reduce energy consumption 75% (thereby lowering the total cost of ownership), while maintaining performance, reliability, and uptime requirements.

Other major projects include replacing copper wiring in servers with laser light beams to improve energy efficiency, and developing a set of software tools to better measure and manage the environmental impact of product manufacturing, supply chains, and business processes.

HP says it expects the research to open up new markets for its IT products, particularly in the growing “smart” building space.