Data Center Liquid Cooling

Data centers are big buildings that store and handle lots of IT gear, like servers, storage systems, and network equipment, to manage and keep data. Data centers create tons of heat with excessive use of computing power, such as (think AI), hence cooling techniques are required. Traditional air cooling is not as effective for high-density setups anymore. Hence, to cope with the growing need for liquid cooling in data centers, companies are making huge investments in the research and development of advanced liquid cooling systems for data centers. Systems like direct-to-chip cooling and immersion cooling are far better at dissipating the heat. Using liquid cooling can help data centers get better power usage effectiveness (PUE) scores, use less energy, and handle the high-density setups needed to run today's complex computing tasks.

The Data Center Liquid Cooling market is set to show a growth rate of about 15.93% during the forecast period (2025-2033F). The global data center liquid cooling solutions market is experiencing dynamic growth with the increasing demand for high-performance computing, AI, and big data analytics. As traditional air cooling is no longer efficient as data centers expand, driving more efficient liquid cooling solutions. Some of the solutions, such as direct-to-chip and immersion cooling, offer superior thermal management, enabling higher server densities and reducing energy consumption. The necessity for energy efficiency, environmental legislations, and the use of edge computing and cloud services are driving growth in the global data center liquid cooling solution market. Further, the market is poised to continue expanding as data centers transition to accommodate the demands of today's computing.

• Based on component, the market is bifurcated into solutions and services. Solutions are further segmented into indirect liquid cooling and direct liquid cooling market, while services are further segmented into design and consulting, installation and deployment, and support and maintenance. Solutions are dominating the market and drastically changing the data center operations by dealing with heat generated from high-density computing applications economically. Compared to traditional air cooling, DLC applies liquid-based systems for cooling and dissipating heat from the most dependable and performance-driven components directly. This predominantly reduces energy consumption, decreases the cost of operations, and imposes minimal environmental impacts. Artificial intelligence and machine learning applications with high compute intensity accelerated the development of DLC technologies further. For instance, On January 16, 2024, Aligned Data Centers, announced the launch of its DeltaFlow~ TM liquid cooling technology a patent-pending solution designed to support the high-density compute requirements of next-generation applications and high-performance computing (HPC), including artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), and supercomputers.
• Based on the size, the market is segmented into small and mid-sized data centers and large data centers. The large data centers segment dominated the market in the historic year as they can meet the demand for localized, scalable, and inexpensive computing power. Not only have IoT (Internet of Things) devices grown exponentially, but the expanding reality of applications related to advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) and 5G has expanded the number of data points related to processing data in real time. On the other hand, small and medium data centers can often be nearer to the data in their ecosystems, which the logistics of fulfilment and processing will facilitate the edge computing that can lead to a lower level of latency and improve operating efficiency in various industries (e.g. health care, telecommunications, manufacturing, etc.). The ability of modular and containerized designs to provide a fast and flexible infrastructure allows a business to scale and change based on future needs and changing requirements. Finally, the growing concerns around data protection and compliance are creating a push towards localized data as well.
• Based on type, the market is segmented into hyperscale data centers, enterprise data centers, colocation data centers, and others. Hyperscale, enterprise, and colocation data centers are engaging in liquid cooling technologies to address the rapid rise of server densities while decreasing the overall operational impact of energy costs. Further, hyperscale data centers, such as Microsoft and Google, are beginning to adopt more complex liquid cooling systems (like direct-to-chip and immersion systems) as they adapt to the high level of individual user requirements across the life of the data center and help to balance total energy consumption. Many enterprise centers are increasingly moving to liquid cooling solutions to improve performance while minimizing energy consumption. Colocation providers are adopting liquid cooling technologies, sometimes in an old-school manner whereby they will support older technology alongside newer technologies to meet individual demands, or sometimes statically, by providing a rudimentary way of covering across the future and diversely accommodating the growing variety of operational efficiencies.
• Based on end-use industry, the market is segmented into IT and Telecom, Banking, Financial Services, and Insurance (BFSI), Media and Entertainment, Healthcare, Government and Defence, Retail, and Others. The market for data center liquid cooling is growing rapidly across many industries, driven by demand for effective cooling. IT & Telecom, BFSI, healthcare, government, retail, media & entertainment, are driving the adoption of timely cooling technology, responding to data processing and storage demands. For example, the IT & Telecom sector is appealing for investment in liquid cooled environments as popular demand is based on 5G, network and application innovation, and AI adoption. In the BFSI sector, digitization and technology investment are driving data center growth, and healthcare is also leveraging digitization, leveraging electronic health records and telemedicine, which are generating data processing and storage needs. Further, the retail industry is utilizing a digital platform as an alternative online channel migration phase, generating expanded data processing, and the entertainment role with specific performance computing units.
• For a better understanding of the market adoption of Data Center Liquid Cooling, the market is analyzed based on its worldwide presence in countries such as North America (U.S., Canada, and the Rest of North America), Europe (Germany, France, U.K., Italy, Netherlands, Rest of Europe), Asia-Pacific (China, Japan, India, Australia, Rest of Asia-Pacific), Rest of World. Among these, the North American Data Center Liquid Cooling market is moving forward because of the presence of major tech giants and data center operators in the region. There exist many hyperscale data centers in the U.S., operated by leading cloud service providers and big tech giants like Google, Amazon, and Microsoft. The rising demand for high-performance computing, with the growing use of AI and ML applications, gives rise to the need for advanced cooling solutions in the region. Moreover, a rise in stringent controls exists on energy efficiency and environmental sustainability that push for greater use of liquid cooling technologies in North American data centers. The market in this region is expected to grow at a good CAGR over the forecast period with the ongoing strategic investments through product launches, strategic mergers and acquisitions, collaborations, etc.

March 18, 2024: Schneider Electric, the leader in the digital transformation of energy management and automation, announced a collaboration with NVIDIA to optimize data center infrastructure and paved the way for groundbreaking advancements in edge artificial intelligence (AI) and digital twin technologies. Adding to this, special focus would be on enabling high-power distribution, liquid-cooling systems, and controls, designed to ensure simple commissioning and reliable operations for the extreme-density cluster.

On November 2, 2023, Vertiv introduced Vertiv™ SmartMod™ Max CW, a prefabricated modular data center designed to address the growing demand for rapid deployment of compute. This configurable and scalable solution supported up to 200kW of total IT load in a single system that utilized chilled water cooling for reduced environmental impact and energy efficiency. The solution has been available in North America.

• Some major players running in the market include Schneider Electric; AQ Compute Services Germany GmbH (Aquila Group); Asetek Inc. A/S (Asetek A/S); RITTAL GmbH & Co. KG (Friedhelm Loh Group); Vertiv Group Corp. (Vertiv Holdings Co.); Green Revolution Cooling, Inc.; Chilldyne, Inc.; FUJITSU (Furukawa Group); DCX INC; Submer.