How Liquid Cooling Transforms Data Centers

Liquid cooling is redefining data center efficiency... Delivering a powerful combination of sustainability and cost savings. As computing demands increase, traditional air cooling is falling behind. Data centers are turning to liquid cooling to reduce energy use, cut costs, and support high-performance workloads. Operators are considering direct-to-chip cooling, which circulates liquid over heat-generating components, and immersion cooling, where servers are fully submerged in a dielectric fluid for maximum efficiency. Developed markets, like the U.S. and Europe, are adopting liquid cooling to support AI-driven workloads and reduce carbon footprints in large-scale facilities. Meanwhile, emerging markets in Southeast Asia and Latin America are leveraging liquid cooling to manage high-density computing in regions with hotter climates and less reliable power grids, ensuring operational stability and efficiency. Greater Energy Efficiency Liquid cooling reduces total data center power consumption by 10.2%, with facility-wide savings up to 18.1%. It also uses 90% less energy than air conditioning, improving heat transfer and maintaining stable operating temperatures. Sustainability Gains Lower PUE (Power Usage Effectiveness) means less wasted energy, while reduced electricity use cuts carbon emissions. Closed-loop systems also minimize water consumption, making liquid cooling a more sustainable option. Cost and Performance Advantages Efficient temperature management prevents thermal throttling, optimizing CPU and GPU performance. Higher-density computing lowers construction costs by 15-30%, while cooling energy savings of up to 50% reduce long-term operational expenses. The Future of Cooling As #AI and cloud workloads grow, liquid cooling is becoming a competitive advantage. Early adopters will benefit from lower costs, improved efficiency, and a more sustainable infrastructure. #datacenters

We are not talking about it enough but data center cooling isn’t just a technical constraint anymore, it’s a wall we’re about to crash into. Air cooling is already maxed out under modern AI workloads. Liquid cooling isn’t futuristic anymore, it’s baseline. But even that won’t get us where we need to go. The next leap in computing isn’t just about silicon. It’s about materials, the ones that move heat faster, more efficiently, with less space and energy overhead. Right now, the situation is crucial: → Direct-to-chip liquid cooling is here and scaling. It’s a good step, but it doesn’t solve component-level hotspots. → Immersion cooling is being rolled out by Microsoft, Meta, and others. Great for racks, but not a silver bullet. → Liquid metals, high-end phase change materials, and engineered coolants are improving edge-level thermal interfaces, but they hit their limits fast. One material getting serious attention is synthetic diamond. Its thermal conductivity is unmatched. Some startups, like Akash Systems, are already using diamond for heat spreaders and RF devices, claiming measurable performance gains. There’s even early work on growing diamond films directly on silicon — a concept that, if scalable, could shift how we build thermal pathways in packaging. But diamond isn’t a magic solution. It’s expensive. Manufacturing is complex. Integration with standard processes is still a challenge. Still, the interest isn’t hype. The physics is real. And as compute density increases, it’s clear we’ll need new materials in the stack to handle the thermal load. If you're building AI-scale infrastructure and not exploring this layer of the problem — the materials layer — you’re not preparing for what’s coming. Because it won’t be the airflow that holds you back. It’ll be heat. #DataCenterCooling #AdvancedMaterials #LiquidCooling #FutureOfComputing

🌡️ Revolutionizing Data Center Cooling: The Power of Fluorinated Liquids!** 🌊✨ Discover how cutting-edge immersion cooling technology is transforming the way we manage heat in high-performance computing. With fluorinated liquids leading the charge, we’re not just enhancing efficiency—we’re paving the way for a sustainable future in tech! 🔧💚 Immersion cooling is an advanced cooling technique used primarily in data centers and high-performance computing environments. This method involves submerging electronic components, such as servers and other hardware, directly into a dielectric (non-conductive) liquid coolant. How Immersion Cooling Works The process of immersion cooling can be broken down into three main steps: 1. Submersion: Hardware components are fully submerged in a dielectric coolant, which is designed to avoid electrical interference. Fans and power supplies must be removed before submersion. 2. Heat Absorption: The liquid coolant, which has a higher thermal conductivity than air, absorbs the heat generated by the electronic components. 3. Heat Dissipation: The heated liquid is circulated to a heat exchanger where the heat is transferred away from the coolant, allowing it to be recirculated back to the hardware. Types of Immersion Cooling There are two main approaches to immersion cooling: 1. Single-Phase Immersion Cooling:    - The coolant remains in liquid form throughout the process.   - The liquid is pumped to a heat exchanger where heat is transferred to a cool water circuit.   - Cooling baths are typically open-topped due to low evaporation risk. 2. Two-Phase Immersion Cooling:   - Uses a dielectric fluid with a low boiling point (around 56°C).   - The heat causes the liquid to boil and change to gas.   - The gas rises, meets a condenser, and 'rains' back into the pool, cooling the working fluid again.   - Requires sealed baths to prevent gas escape. Benefits of Immersion Cooling Immersion cooling offers several advantages over traditional air cooling methods: - Energy Efficiency: Can reduce Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE) to below 1.1, compared to the global average of 1.55. - Space Saving: Allows for higher computing density in a smaller space. - Noise Reduction: Eliminates the need for fans, resulting in quieter operation. - Hardware Longevity: Maintains consistent temperatures, reducing thermal stress on components. - Sustainability: Can reduce carbon emissions by up to 39% and water consumption by up to 91%. Coolants Used The dielectric fluids used in immersion cooling fall into two categories: 1. Oils (synthetic, mineral, bio) 2. Engineered fluids (e.g., 3M's Novec or Fluorinert lines) Immersion cooling represents a significant advancement in data center cooling technology, offering improved efficiency, sustainability, and performance compared to traditional air cooling methods. What do you think? #DataCenter #CoolingTechnology #Sustainability #Innovation #3M #Novec #ai Video courtesy of MechMarvelTV

Got to tour my first Data Center yesterday.  Here are some takeaways from it.  Note, I’m not an expert in Data Centers and these thoughts are more from a curious investor standpoint. First off, special thank you to Allison Boen and Shell who was kind enough to host myself, Zach and Joe during the lunch and learn session with industry leaders from Green Revolution Cooling, Supermicro, Shell and AMD to name a few.. The data center we went into was a Shell Data Center. With our HVAC background, and our recent exit of Flow Service Partners, our first thought on data centers was, let’s dig into the cooling side of things. 1.  Immersion cooling is a need, not a want. The rise in kW per rack and TDP due to the growth in AI and GPU processing is resulting in rack densities that are simply too hot to be cooled through computer room air conditioning ("CRAC" - i.e., traditional AC). 2.  Companies should be excited about this! Immersion cooling has immense benefits - decreasing total cost of ownership, increase in computing densities, decreasing failure rates and increasing hardware lifespans, and increasing the number of racks able to run at once due to less space needed for cooling tanks. The dielectric fluid Shell is producing is recyclable and environmentally friendly. And don't even get me started on the noise factor of CRACs vs. immersion cooling tanks.…the sound would make you go crazy if you stayed in there there too long. 3. The current resistance and hesitancy to adopt immersion cooling techniques can be boiled down to two factors. One being the capital outlay needing to retrofit facilities (this will become less of an issue as new data centers are built to be liquid cooling friendly) and the other being the lack of warranties offered on some of the chips. Some companies currently offer product warranties, but most do not. Once more warranties are offered, I think the floodgates towards liquid cooling adoption will be opened. 4. Some hyperscalers and operators are currently utilizing immersion cooling for ~30% of total cooling efforts. If a data center is already hooked into the grid and can draw a predefined amount of power, then immersion cooling is the only way to get more density without generating a higher level of draw from the grid. This could result an additional 35% of total power usage that goes to conventional HVAC systems switching over to cool racks. 5. All this boils down to I think the industry will more and more shift towards immersion cooling.  There was even talk of combining direct to chip and immersion cooling. If you are looking for an investment in the data center space, would love to chat.

AWS Builds Custom Liquid Cooling System for Data Centers Amazon Web Services (AWS) is sharing details of a new liquid cooling system to support high-density AI infrastructure in its data centers, including custom designs for a coolant distribution unit and an engineered fluid. “We've crossed a threshold where it becomes more economical to use liquid cooling to extract the heat,” said Dave Klusas, AWS’s senior manager of data center cooling systems, in a blog post. The AWS team considered multiple vendor liquid cooling solutions, but found none met its needs and began designing a completely custom system, which was delivered in 11 months, the company said. The direct-to-chip solution uses a cold plate placed directly on top of the chip. The coolant, a fluid specifically engineered by AWS, runs in tubes through the sealed cold plate, absorbing the heat and carrying it out of the server rack to a heat rejection system, and then back to the cold plates. It’s a closed loop system, meaning the liquid continuously recirculates without increasing the data center’s water consumption. AWS also developed a custom coolant distribution unit, which it said is more powerful and more efficient than its off-the-shelf competitors. “We invented that specifically for our needs,” Klusas says. “By focusing specifically on our problem, we were able to optimize for lower cost, greater efficiency, and higher capacity.” Klusas said the liquid is typically at “hot tub” temperatures for improved efficiency. AWS has shared details of its process, including photos: https://lnkd.in/e-D4HvcK