ET24SWE0065 - Datacenter Liquid Cooling Market Characterization
A significant increase in datacenters is anticipated in the coming decade due to the rise of AI, machine learning and cloud computing. In California, PG&E estimates that in its territory alone 3.5 GW of datacenter capacity will be added in the next 5 years, adding huge demands on the grid. Datacenters are very energy intensive, in large part because they are typically cooled with outdated, inefficient methods. Air-cooling using computer room air conditioning (CRAC) units accounts for roughly 33-40% of all electrical energy consumed by traditional datacenters. There is an opportunity to reduce datacenter energy consumption by 20% using liquid cooling strategies to target the compute chips rather than the entire building they occupy. A variety of liquid cooling technologies are available in the market such as single- and two-phase immersion cooling, single and two-phase direct liquid cooling and hybrid strategies that include liquid and air cooling. Due to the different varieties of liquid cooling technologies, market adoption of these technologies would benefit from a comprehensive categorization and enumeration of the different options, along with their relative advantages and disadvantages.
To better understand which promising technologies the efficiency programs could accelerate and what the barriers to adoption are, a study of various liquid cooling methods for cooling datacenters will be conducted. The information gathered in the survey will be both quantitative and qualitative. Analysis will be performed on the promising technologies including energy use reduction for achieving the same case temperature of the electronics component. Other factors to be considered are water use, opportunities for waste heat recovery, and preliminary cost comparisons. Qualitative information will include aspects such as ease of retrofitting traditional air-cooled datacenters, space constraints, power requirements, and environmental impact of the technology. Reliability information pertaining to the cooling technologies available on the market will also be documented.
This market characterization project will identify promising technologies for next step emerging technology studies to support new efficiency measures for custom and deemed efficiency programs.
The anticipated surge in California's datacenter energy demand, driven by artificial intelligence and cloud computing, poses a substantial threat to the state's clean energy initiatives and grid reliability. This market study provides a strategic framework for transitioning thermal management from inadequate conventional air cooling toward efficient liquid-based systems. The study compares various single-mode and hybrid cooling strategies, analyzing critical trade-offs between energy efficiency, compute density, retrofit feasibility, and system complexity.
Single-mode analysis reveals stark contrasts: traditional air-cooled systems are characterized by high energy overhead and low compute density. Conversely, all-Direct-to-Chip (D2C) cold plates achieve superior energy efficiency and ultra-high density, though they present significant retrofit challenges for existing facilities. Full-immersion, usually suitable for smaller size datacenters, offers improvements over air cooling but is currently hampered by serviceability and standardization issues.
Hybrid configurations offer flexible and practical pathways for upgrading legacy datacenters. A combination of D2C and existing air handlers (CRAH) provides an efficient, retrofit-friendly balance. Other hybrid solutions, such as those involving immersion, can enable very high density at the cost of complexity. Liquid-to-air coolant distribution units serve as a constraint-driven fallback for facilities unable to extend liquid lines, but this approach incurs a substantial energy penalty.
Key findings indicate D2C is the optimal solution for high-power chips. Fully liquid-cooled facilities are commercially mature, enabling waste heat recovery and dramatically increasing compute density by eliminating air infrastructure. While D2C is the fastest-growing segment, hybrid systems currently represent the most practical commercial trajectory for most operators, balancing high efficiency with feasible implementation.