Data center cooling: new high-performance chip generations ask for innovative and customized solutions

06/05/2025

Driven by the increasing demand for high-performance computing, collocation and artificial intelligence (AI), the global data center market is expected to grow considerably in the years to come. A sharp escalation of server power consumption has resulted in higher average rack power density that might even exceed 20 kW. Currently, common air cooling will increasingly be substituted by liquid cooling solutions.

The introduction of new high-performance chips from Nvidia, AMD, Intel and the like allows for machine-learning, i.e., generative AI providing texts, pictures or videos as replies to user questions. But their immense data processing causes distinct hot spots on the chip that can quickly end up in chip failure if not taken care of.

To solve this problem, common air-cooling solutions are not sufficient anymore. Instead, liquid cooling solutions come into play that are typically divided into direct-to-chip (D2C) cooling, spray cooling and immersion cooling technologies. These three concepts differ by coolant, contact between coolant and chip, power usage effectiveness (PUE), typical rack density, initial investment as well as many other aspects and have all their specific advantages and disadvantages.

The exact level of mid- to long-term market penetration for each liquid cooling solution is still unclear. However, growth potential and technical requirements make them rather attractive for a premium supplier of cooling solutions. SuP can support you in the evaluation of business opportunities and the understanding of requirements in this innovative market environment.

Are you interested in further information?
Please do not hesitate to contact us:

Ursula Hosselmann
Phone: +49 6201 9915 42
Ursula.Hosselmann@SchlegelundPartner.de