Liquid Cooling Technologies Driving Data Centre Efficiency

Carrier launches CRAH for data centres

Carrier, a manufacturer of HVAC, refrigeration, and fire and security equipment, has introduced the AiroVision 39CV Computer Room Air Handler (CRAH), expanding its QuantumLeap portfolio with a precision cooling system designed for medium- to large-scale data centre environments. Developed and manufactured in Europe, the AiroVision 39CV is intended to support energy efficiency, reliability, and shorter lead times, while meeting EU regulatory requirements. The unit offers a cooling capacity from 20kW to 250kW and is designed to operate with elevated chilled water temperatures. Carrier states that this approach can improve energy performance and contribute to lower power usage effectiveness (PUE) by enabling more efficient chiller operation and supporting free cooling strategies. Factory-integrated design for simplified deployment The AiroVision 39CV features a built-in controller for real-time monitoring, adaptive operation, and integration with building management systems. The control platform can be configured to suit specific operational requirements. All components are factory-integrated to reduce on-site installation and commissioning work. Additional features, including an auto transfer switch and ultra-capacitors, are intended to support service continuity in critical environments. Michel Grabon, EMEA Marketing and Market Verticals Director at Carrier, says, “The 39CV is a strategic addition to our QuantumLeap Solutions portfolio, designed to help data centre operators address today’s most pressing challenges: increasing thermal loads from higher computing densities, the need to reduce energy consumption to meet sustainability targets, and the pressure to deploy solutions quickly and efficiently. "With its high-efficiency design, intelligent control system, and factory-integrated components, the 39CV helps operators to improve energy performance, optimise installation time, and build scalable infrastructures with confidence.” For more from Carrier, click here.

PFX highlights its SOLUTHERM cooling fluids

PFX Group, a Canadian manufacturer of automotive and industrial fluids, has showcased its SOLUTHERM heat transfer fluid range at the 2026 AHR Expo in Las Vegas, USA. The company presented its thermal management fluids at the Recochem booth during the event, which ran from 2 to 4 February. The SOLUTHERM range is designed to support HVAC system performance, including traditional heating and cooling loops and liquid cooling applications in data centres. The company states that increasing power densities, changing regulatory requirements, and evolving system materials are driving greater demand for effective thermal management. This is particularly relevant in data centres, where continuous operation and high-performance computing environments require reliable temperature control to support equipment performance and operational continuity. The SOLUTHERM range includes glycol-based heat transfer fluids designed to support system efficiency, temperature stability, and corrosion protection. Some formulations are developed to support environmental targets, including biodegradable options and fluids aligned with LEED building requirements. Jerome Dujoux, Vice President of Branding and Innovation at PFX Group, says, “HVAC and data centre cooling are no longer separate conversations. "As computing power increases and buildings become more energy intensive, thermal management is becoming a connective tissue between digital infrastructure and the built environment. That’s the shift SOLUTHERM is designed for.” Thermal fluids for HVAC and data centre cooling Among the products highlighted at the exhibition were SOLUTHERM PG HD and EG HD heat transfer fluids, designed for HVAC applications in facilities including hospitals, universities, and other critical infrastructure environments. The company also presented SOLUTHERM direct liquid cooling fluids, developed for servers and high-performance computing environments. These fluids are designed to operate across a wide temperature range, supporting data centre cooling requirements associated with increasing power density. Additional products included SOLUTHERM PG HD LEED heat transfer fluids, which use bio-based propylene glycol and meet ASTM D8039 corrosion testing standards, and SOLUTHERM PG AL Safe heat transfer fluids, developed for systems containing aluminium components such as boilers, water heaters, and heat exchangers. Tom Corrigan, Director of Research and Development at PFX Group, notes, “Heat transfer fluids are often treated as a commodity when, in reality, they influence energy efficiency, equipment lifespan, and system reliability more than most people realise. "We see thermal management as a strategic decision and that’s why SOLUTHERM is engineered for specific applications and backed with ongoing support.”

Johnson Controls launches cooling reference design guides

Johnson Controls, a global provider of smart building technologies, has announced the launch of its Reference Design Guide Series for one-gigawatt AI data centres. Each guide in the series maps the full thermal chain, offering cooling architectures tailored to diverse compute densities, geographies, and elevations. The series begins with a blueprint for water-cooled chiller plants, with future guides to address air-cooled and absorption chiller solutions. As AI transforms industries, the scale and complexity of data centre infrastructure is rapidly evolving. The ability to efficiently manage thermal loads at gigawatt scale is now a critical enabler for AI innovation, and the industry faces mounting pressure to deliver facilities that are not only high-performing, but also sustainable and future-ready. Johnson Controls says its Reference Design Guide Series responds to this challenge by outlining how to achieve "industry-leading" energy and water efficiency (PUE and WUE) while maintaining flexibility to scale across diverse climates and operational requirements. The guide outlines a complete thermal architecture supporting both liquid- and air-cooled IT loads through integrated computer room air handlers (CRAHs), fan coil walls, coolant distribution units (CDUs), and high-efficiency YORK centrifugal chillers. It provides sizing guidance for 220MW compute quadrants and defines temperature and operating conditions across all major facility loops, including Technology Cooling System (TCS) loops supporting next-generation GPUs. Stated key outcomes • Zero water consumption — A "fully water-free" heat rejection process using dry coolers, "reducing operational costs and advancing sustainability objectives." • Future-ready thermal flexibility — High-temperature TCS loop readiness aims to ensure compatibility with forthcoming GPU architectures. • Optimised high-density AI performance — Alignment with NVIDIA DSX reference architecture enables scalable deployment of 1-GW-class AI Factories. • Energy-efficient operation — Elevated condenser water temperatures, bifurcated loops, and YORK high-lift chillers aim to deliver good PUE and improved annualised efficiency. Austin Domenici, Vice President & General Manager at Johnson Controls Global Data Center Solutions, says, "AI Factories are production facilities - the places where intelligence is manufactured at an industrial scale. "By supporting the NVIDIA DSX reference architecture and improving water and energy efficiency in the cooling process while maintaining high temperature loop compatibility, our Reference Design Guide equips customers to deploy gigawatt-scale AI infrastructure that is scalable, repeatable, resilient, and sustainable." For more from Johnson Controls, click here.

Carrier launches CDU with 2°C ATD

Carrier, a manufacturer of HVAC, refrigeration, and fire and security equipment, has introduced a new coolant distribution unit (CDU), designed to support the growing use of liquid cooling in UK data centres while improving energy performance, resilience, and space utilisation. The Carrier CDU is intended to help operators manage higher rack densities and increasing cooling demands. It is designed to support liquid-cooled IT environments and provide greater control over energy use and system uptime. As liquid cooling becomes more widely adopted to meet efficiency targets, the CDU enables deployment at scale through management of secondary coolant loops. Carrier says this can help reduce pumping energy and optimise heat removal across varying load conditions. Thermal performance and system efficiency The CDU uses modular heat exchangers that can deliver approach temperatures as low as 2°C, compared with more typical 4°C systems. According to Carrier, this can enable up to 15% chiller energy savings, allowing more electrical capacity to be allocated to IT loads rather than cooling. Oliver Sanders, Data Centre Commercial Director UK&I, Carrier HVAC, notes, “Data centre leaders across the UK are focused on increasing capacity without increasing risk. “This new Carrier CDU supports that goal by giving operators greater thermal stability, more flexibility in system design, and better visibility of cooling performance. The result is improved energy efficiency and smoother scalability as liquid cooling demand grows.” The CDU is designed for use in mission-critical environments and includes redundant pumps and power supplies to support continued operation during maintenance or unexpected events. Intelligent controls manage fluid temperatures and flow rates in real time, with the aim of maintaining stable conditions for high-density servers while reducing energy consumption. Integration, scalability, and monitoring Carrier states that the CDU is designed for simplified integration into existing facilities, allowing liquid cooling to be introduced with minimal disruption. The product range includes multiple unit sizes from 1.3 to 5 MW, enabling operators to align cooling capacity with current and future high-density requirements. The system is intended to support direct-to-chip cooling as well as mixed cooling environments. Carrier says it is designed to maintain stable performance under fluctuating workloads and higher ambient temperatures. “Liquid cooling adoption is accelerating, and operators want systems that deliver both efficiency and certainty,” Oliver continues. “With this Carrier CDU, customers can integrate high-density workloads confidently, knowing their cooling system is designed to maximise uptime, efficiency, and long-term value.” The CDU integrates with Carrier’s control platforms to support centralised monitoring, performance optimisation, and energy management. This is intended to help data centre teams track cooling trends, respond to load changes, and plan capacity more effectively. The Carrier CDU forms part of Carrier’s QuantumLeap portfolio of data centre technologies. For more from Carrier, click here.

Motivair introduces scalable CDU for AI data centres

Motivair, a provider of liquid cooling systems for data centres, owned by Schneider Electric, has announced a new coolant distribution unit designed to support high-density data centre cooling requirements, including large-scale AI and high-performance computing deployments. The new CDU, MCDU-70, has a nominal capacity of 2.5 MW and is intended for use in liquid-cooled environments where compute density continues to increase. Motivair says the system can be deployed as part of a centralised cooling architecture and scaled beyond 10 MW through multiple units operating together. According to the company, the CDU is designed to support current and future GPU-based workloads, where heat output is significantly higher than traditional CPU-based infrastructure. It notes that rack power densities in AI environments are expected to approach one megawatt and above, increasing the need for liquid cooling approaches. Designed for scalable, high-density cooling Motivair states that the new CDU integrates with Schneider Electric’s EcoStruxure platform, allowing multiple units to operate as part of a coordinated system. The design is intended to support phased expansion as cooling demand grows, without requiring major redesign of the wider plant. Rich Whitmore, CEO of Motivair by Schneider Electric, comments, “Our solutions are designed to keep pace with chip and silicon evolution. Data centre success now depends on delivering scalable, reliable infrastructure that aligns with next-generation AI factory deployments.” The CDU forms part of Schneider Electric’s wider liquid cooling portfolio, which includes systems ranging from lower-capacity deployments through to multi-megawatt installations. Motivair says the units are designed as modular building blocks, enabling operators to select and combine systems based on specific performance and redundancy requirements. The system is manufactured through Schneider Electric's facilities in North America, Europe, and Asia, and is intended to provide high flow rates and pressure within a compact footprint. The company adds that the design supports parallel filtration, real-time monitoring, and integration with other cooling components to support efficient operation across the data centre. The MCDU-70 is now available to order globally. For more from Schneider Electric, click here.

Sabey Data Centers partners with OptiCool Technologies

Sabey Data Centers, a data centre developer, owner, and operator, has announced a partnership with OptiCool Technologies, a US manufacturer of refrigerant-based cooling systems for data centres, to support higher-density computing requirements across its US facilities. The collaboration sits within Sabey’s integrated cooling programme, which aims to ease adoption of liquid cooling approaches as processing demand increases, particularly for AI applications. Sabey says the partnership will broaden the range of cooling technologies available to customers across its portfolio, providing a practical route to denser deployments. OptiCool supplies two-phase refrigerant pumped systems designed for data centre use. The non-conductive refrigerant absorbs heat at the rack through phase change, removing heat without chilled water, large mechanical infrastructure, or significant data hall changes. Sabey states that the method can support increased density while reducing energy use and simplifying plant design. Supporting higher-density and liquid cooling uptake John Sasser, Chief Technical Officer at Sabey Data Centers, comments, “Partnering with OptiCool allows us to offer a cooling pathway that is both efficient and flexible. "Together, we’re making it easier for customers to deploy advanced liquid cooling while maintaining the operational clarity and reliability they expect.” Lawrence Lee, Chief Channel Officer at OptiCool, adds, “By working with Sabey, we’re able to bring our two-phase refrigerant systems into facilities designed to support the next generation of compute. "This partnership helps customers move forward with confidence as they transition to more advanced cooling architectures.” For more from Sabey Data Centers, click here.

Vertiv launches new MegaMod HDX configurations

Vertiv, a global provider of critical digital infrastructure, has introduced new configurations of its MegaMod HDX prefabricated power and liquid cooling system for high-density computing deployments in North America and EMEA. The units are designed for environments using artificial intelligence and high-performance computing and allow operators to increase power and cooling capacity as requirements rise. Vertiv states the configurations give organisations a way to manage greater thermal loads while maintaining deployment speed and reducing space requirements. The MegaMod HDX integrates direct-to-chip liquid cooling with air-cooled systems to meet the demands of pod-based AI and GPU clusters. The compact configuration supports up to 13 racks with a maximum capacity of 1.25 MW, while the larger combo design supports up to 144 racks and power capacities up to 10 MW. Both are intended for rack densities from 50 kW to above 100 kW. Prefabricated scaling for high-density sites The hybrid architecture combines direct-to-chip cooling with air cooling as part of a prefabricated pod. According to Vertiv, a distributed redundant power design allows the system to continue operating if a module goes offline, and a buffer-tank thermal backup feature helps stabilise GPU clusters during maintenance or changes in load. The company positions the factory-assembled approach as a method of standardising deployment and planning and supporting incremental build-outs as data centre requirements evolve. The MegaMod HDX configurations draw on Vertiv’s existing power, cooling, and management portfolio, including the Liebert APM2 UPS (uninterruptible power supply), CoolChip CDU (cooling distribution unit), PowerBar busway system, and Unify infrastructure monitoring. Vertiv also offers compatible racks and OCP-compliant racks, CoolLoop RDHx rear door heat exchangers, CoolChip in-rack CDUs, rack power distribution units, PowerDirect in-rack DC power systems, and CoolChip Fluid Network Rack Manifolds. Viktor Petik, Senior Vice President, Infrastructure Solutions at Vertiv, says, “Today’s AI workloads demand cooling solutions that go beyond traditional approaches. "With the Vertiv MegaMod HDX available in both compact and combo solution configurations, organisations can match their facility requirements while supporting high-density, liquid-cooled environments at scale." For more from Vertiv, click here.

Data centre cooling options

Modern data centres require advanced cooling methods to maintain performance as power densities rise and workloads intensify. In light of this, BAC (Baltimore Aircoil Company), a provider of data centre cooling equipment, has shared some tips and tricks from its experts. This comes as the sector continues to expand rapidly, with some analysts estimating an 8.5% annual growth rate over the next five years, pushing the market beyond $600 billion (£445 billion) by 2029. AI and machine learning are accelerating this trajectory. Goldman Sachs Research forecasts a near 200TWh increase in annual power demand from 2024 to 2030, with AI projected to represent almost a fifth of global data centre load by 2028. This growth places exceptional pressure on cooling infrastructure. Higher rack densities and more compact layouts generate significant heat, making reliable heat rejection essential to prevent equipment damage, downtime, and performance degradation. The choice of cooling system directly influences efficiency and Total-power Usage Effectiveness (TUE). Cooling technologies inside the facility Two primary approaches dominate internal cooling: air-based systems and liquid-based systems. Air-cooled racks have long been the standard, especially in traditional enterprise environments or facilities with lower compute loads. However, rising heat output, hotspots, and increased energy consumption are testing the limits of air-only designs, contributing to higher TUE and emissions. Liquid cooling offers substantially greater heat-removal capacity. Different approaches to this include: • Immersion cooling, which submerges IT hardware in non-conductive dielectric fluid, enabling efficient heat rejection without reliance on ambient airflow. Immersion tanks are commonly paired with evaporative or dry coolers outdoors, maximising output while reducing energy use. The method also enables denser layouts by limiting thermal constraints. • Direct-to-chip cooling, which channels coolant through cold plates on high-load components such as CPUs and GPUs. While effective, it is less efficient than immersion and can introduce additional complexity. Rear door heat exchangers offer a hybrid path for legacy sites, removing heat at rack level without overhauling the entire cooling architecture. Heat rejection outside the white space Once captured inside the building, heat must be expelled efficiently. A spectrum of outdoor systems support differing site priorities, including energy, water, and climate considerations. Approaches include: • Dry coolers — These are increasingly used in water-sensitive regions. By using ambient air, they eliminate evaporative loss and offer strong Water Usage Effectiveness (WUE), though typically with higher power draw than evaporative systems. In cooler climates, they benefit from free cooling, reducing operational energy. • Hybrid and adiabatic systems — These offer variable modes, balancing energy and water use. They switch between dry operation and wet operation as conditions change, helping operators reduce water consumption while still tapping evaporative efficiencies during peaks. • Evaporative cooling — Through cooling towers or closed-circuit fluid coolers, this remains one of the most energy-efficient options where water is available. Towers evaporate water to remove heat, while fluid coolers maintain cleaner internal circuits, protecting equipment from contaminants. With data centre deployment expanding across diverse climates, operators increasingly weigh water scarcity, power constraints, and sustainability targets. Selecting the appropriate external cooling approach requires evaluating both consumption profiles and regulatory pressures. For more from BAC, click here.

Southco develops blind-mate mechanism for liquid cooling

Southco, a US manufacturer of engineered access hardware including latches, hinges, and fasteners, has developed a high-tolerance blind-mate floating mechanism designed for next-generation liquid-cooled data centres. The company says the design is intended to address mechanical tolerance challenges that affect cooling system efficiency and operational stability. It notes that demand for liquid cooling is increasing as traditional air-cooling methods struggle to manage higher power densities associated with AI workloads and high-performance computing. Adoption is accelerating further as operators pursue sustainability and targeted PUE reductions. Liquid cooling, however, requires reliable physical connections, with Southco highlighting that even small alignment deviations at manifold and cold-plate interfaces can disrupt coolant flow, increase pump energy consumption, and heighten the risk of leaks. Managing mechanical deviation in liquid cooling systems Citing guidance in the Open Compute Project’s rack-mounted manifold requirements, Southco notes that a 1mm deviation can raise flow resistance by 15%, leading to around a 7% increase in pump energy. In large facilities, these effects scale alongside thousands of connection points. The company identifies several contributors to misalignment in operational environments: • Accumulated tolerances between rack formats, including EIA-310-D and ORV3, which may reach ±3.2mm • Displacement caused by vibration during transport and operation • Thermal expansion of materials, including copper manifolds expanding more than 1mm over typical temperature ranges Rigid, low-tolerance couplings can leave systems vulnerable to leaks, rising operational costs, and downtime risk, and the newly introduced blind-mate floating mechanism is designed to absorb movement and compensate for these deviations. The product offers floating tolerance of ±4mm radially, axial displacement absorption up to 6mm, and automatic self-centring when disconnected. The design is intended to support long-term leak prevention and meet standards applicable to OCP and ORV3 liquid cooling deployments. Southco adds that the mechanism includes sealing rated to withstand high-pressure testing in line with ASME B31.3 requirements and is intended to support more than ten years of continuous operation. It uses universal quick-disconnect interfaces to enable “blind” maintenance without precise alignment or tooling. The company positions the technology as a step towards enabling rapid maintenance, reducing equipment handling time, and lowering the risk of service interruption. It also points to reduced energy used by pumps through lower flow resistance. Southco sees future development in integrating sensing for temperature, flow, and pressure; exploring lighter materials; and working towards greater standardisation across suppliers and data centre ecosystems.

LiquidStack secures 300MW CDU order from major US operator

LiquidStack, a global company specialising in liquid cooling for data centres, has announced a 300-megawatt order of coolant distribution unit (CDU) capacity from a major US-based data centre operator. The multi-site order will support AI-ready data centre deployments and highlights accelerating demand for scalable liquid cooling solutions for high-density AI workloads. The order comprises LiquidStack’s high-capacity CDU-1MW, designed to support rapid deployment, high-performance, operational efficiency, and future scalability for the next-generation of data centre environments. Liquid cooling for AI infrastructure The customer, a long-established operator with a growing portfolio of AI-ready facilities across the United States, selected LiquidStack as its liquid cooling partner to support the expansion of AI-ready, high-density infrastructure. LiquidStack says its manufacturing and delivery capabilities enable the accelerated fulfilment of the 300-megawatt order, supporting aggressive build-out timelines across the multiple sites. “Orders of this size signal a clear inflection point for liquid cooling,” says Joe Capes, CEO of LiquidStack. “Operators are committing to liquid cooling as core infrastructure for AI, and LiquidStack is uniquely positioned to support that transition at scale.” This announcement follows continued momentum for LiquidStack, including its inclusion on NVIDIA’s Recommended Vendor List for CDUs, the expansion of its manufacturing capacity in Carrollton, Texas, and increasing adoption of its CDU platforms to support AI and accelerated computing workloads. For more from LiquidStack, click here.