Shell, a British-Dutch multinational oil and gas company, is turning down the heat and turning up the performance in data centres with the launch of Shell DLC Fluid S3 — a Direct Liquid Cooling (DLC) fluid designed to meet the demands of high-performance computing and artificial intelligence (AI).
This propylene glycol-based fluid aims to complement Shell’s existing cooling fluid portfolio and involvement in the data centre liquid cooling market.
As data centers grow more powerful, traditional air-cooling struggles to keep up with the increasing heat generated by high-performance computing and AI. DLC fluids tackle this heat by targeting high heat load components to ensure densely packed server racks can continue to operate at optimal temperatures.
By directly cooling high-performance components like Central Processing Units (CPUs) and Graphics Processing Units (GPUs), DLC fluids can improve Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE) by up to 27% (in comparison with the PUE of air-cooling) and reduce the need for energy-consuming air conditioning. Shell DLC Fluid S3 also meets the Open Compute Project (OCP) PG25 coolant specifications, including standards for material compatibility.
Some features of the Shell DLC Fluid S3 include:
· Long-term corrosion protection for all DLC cooling systems, including aluminium, brass, cast iron, steel, solder, and copper.
· Heat transfer performance: Particularly, according to Shell, for high-surface-area copper-based heat sinks.
· Compatible with a range of materials including metals and metal alloys, elastomers, plastics, and other wetted materials as per OCP guidelines. Its 2-ethylhexyl acrylate-, borate- and silicate-free formulation intends to provide improved metal and rubber compatibilities over competitive formulations.
· Extended fluid life: Expected life of 6+ years, potentially four better than conventional inorganic acid technology (IAT) based fluids.
· Leak detection: Dyed fluorescent green to help identify in-service leakage.
· Freeze protection: Used in servers and electronic components to provide freeze protection down to sub-zero temperatures (−10°C/14°F) and help prevent corrosion.
“With Shell DLC Fluid S3, Shell now offers both direct-to-chip and full immersion cooling solutions, and we’re not just keeping data centres cool in the age of AI — we’re powering the future of digital infrastructure,” says Aysun Akik, VP New Business Development and Global Key Accounts, Shell Lubricants. “We are continuing our commitment to innovation that delivers on performance, sustainability, and reliability to support our customers’ goals.”
Aysun continues, “Our growing range of advanced liquid cooling solutions is designed to meet the diverse needs of modern data centres both today and tomorrow – and are backed by the strength of Shell’s global footprint, supply chain, and five technology development hubs around the globe.”
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