Siemens, nVent develop reference design for AI DCs
Author: Joe Peck
German multinational technology company Siemens and nVent, a US manufacturer of electrical connection and protection systems, are collaborating on a liquid cooling and power reference architecture intended for hyperscale AI environments.
The design aims to support operators facing rising power densities, more demanding compute loads, and the need for modular infrastructure that maintains uptime and operational resilience.
The joint reference architecture is being developed for 100MW-scale AI data centres using liquid-cooled infrastructure such as the NVIDIA DGX SuperPOD with GB200 systems.
It combines Siemens’ electrical and automation technology with NVIDIA’s reference design framework and nVent’s liquid cooling capabilities. The companies state that the architecture is structured to be compatible with Tier III design requirements.
Reference model for power and cooling integration
“We have decades of expertise supporting customers’ next-generation computing infrastructure needs,” says Sara Zawoyski, President of Systems Protection at nVent. “This collaboration with Siemens underscores that commitment.
“The joint reference architecture will help data centre managers deploy our cutting-edge cooling infrastructure to support the AI buildout.”
Ciaran Flanagan, Global Head of Data Center Solutions at Siemens, adds, “This reference architecture accelerates time-to-compute and maximises tokens-per-watt, which is the measure of AI output per unit of energy.
“It’s a blueprint for scale: modular, fault-tolerant, and energy-efficient. Together with nVent and our broader ecosystem of partners, we’re connecting the dots across the value chain to drive innovation, interoperability, and sustainability, helping operators build future-ready data centres that unlock AI’s full potential.”
Reference architectures are increasingly used by data centre operators to support rapid deployment and consistent interface standards. They are particularly relevant as facilities adapt to higher rack-level densities and more intensive computing requirements.
Siemens says it contributes its experience in industrial electrical systems and automation, ranging from medium- and low-voltage distribution to energy management software.
nVent adds that it brings expertise in liquid cooling, working with chip manufacturers, original equipment makers, and hyperscale operators.
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