Nowadays, data centers use dielectric fluids as a coolant to prevent damage and downtime when leakage occurs. However, dielectric fluids typically have high viscosity and low specific heat, resulting in poor cooling performance. To improve performance while retaining the benefits of dielectric fluids, Superfluid technology has emerged and been investigated. Superfluid technology introduces air into the coolant, forming bubbles that reduce the frictional resistance in the movement of the coolant. This results in a lower boundary layer thickness and enhances the heat convection coefficient. When using a specific dielectric fluid with superfluid technology, the heat transfer capacity can achieve 66% of that of water (compared to 55% with dielectric fluid alone). This paper implemented superfluid technology on an AI server with a cold plate solution as a test platform and explored the improvements brought by superfluid technology.
As data centers evolve to meet increasing demands for energy efficiency, operational safety, and environmental sustainability, cooling technologies play a pivotal role in enabling this transformation. This presentation explores how synthetic ester coolants offer a versatile and eco-friendly solution to address the diverse thermal management needs of modern data centers.
Data center operators and silicon providers are aligning on a durable coolant temperature. of 30℃ to meet long-term roadmaps. There is also interest in supporting higher coolant temperatures for heat reuse and lower temperatures for extreme density required for AI workloads. To understand coolant temperature requirements, thermal resistance from silicon to the environment will be discussed. In addition, areas of thermal performance be investigated by the industry will be reviewed.
As AI servers rapidly scale in performance and density, traditional data centers face increasing challenges in meeting low PUE (Power Usage Effectiveness) targets and high TDP (Thermal Design Power) components cooling due to infrastructure limitations. Cold plate liquid cooling has emerged as a mainstream solution with its high thermal efficiency. However, the risk of coolant leakage — potentially damaging AI systems — remains a significant concern. While existing mechanisms (e.g. leak detection) offer a partial safeguard, still do not address the root cause. To resolve this, Intel introduces a game-changing approach by replacing conventional coolants with dielectric fluids, inherently eliminating the threat of electrical damage from leaks. Recognizing the thermal performance limitations of dielectric fluids compared to water, Intel integrates superfluid technology into CDU to dramatically enhance heat dissipation capabilities. This innovation not only fortifies cold plate cooling systems but also paves the way for extending the benefits to single-phase immersion cooling, redefining the technical boundaries of liquid cooling in data centers.
With the rise of AI computing, traditional air cooling methods are no longer sufficient to handle the thermal challenges in high-performance computing (HPC) systems. Liquid cooling has emerged as a reliable and efficient alternative to dissipate heat at kilowatt levels. In this presentation, we will introduce the liquid cooling technologies developed by TAIWAN MICROLOOPS, including the Cooling Distribution Unit (CDU) and various types of cold plates. Standard and customized CDUs are designed to meet refrigeration capacity demands ranging from several kilowatts to hundreds of kilowatts. We will also demonstrate both single-phase and two-phase cold plates. These solutions are designed to enhance thermal management efficiency and meet the increasing demands of AI-driven data centers.
Energy efficiency is one of the main contributors to reaching the Paris Agreement. By optimizing the world’s energy consumption, and being able to produce more from less, we can meet our increased energy demand and reduce CO 2 emissions at the same time. In fact, according to the International Energy Agency, increased efficiency could account for more than 40% of emissions reductions in the next 20 years. As much as 50% of data center potential for energy saving comes from the waste heat recovery, and 30% can be achieved in data center buildings. And the solutions to enable these energy efficiency improvements already exist! We have decades of experience developing plate heat exchanger technologies that support our customers to optimize energy use in their processes. Our unique thermal solutions make it possible to save dramatic amounts of energy and electric power and thereby reduce carbon emissions!
When planning and operating an Internet Data Center (IDC), PUE (Power Usage Effectiveness) is a critical metric for licensing and energy performance. While technologies like direct liquid cooling and immersion cooling are effective, they often require high capital investments.
We propose an efficient and scalable solution: Turbo Blowers + Free Cooling + Heat Reuse System - Introduce outdoor air via high-efficiency turbo blowers to remove heat from hot aisles. - Capture and reuse the exhausted heat for drying, building heating, or hot water systems. - Proven performance: Microsoft applied free cooling with a PUE around 1.22 in 2021.
With the rapid development of AI, the demand for performance in data centers and computing infrastructure continues to rise, bringing significant challenges in energy consumption and heat dissipation. This paper discusses the application of AI in infrastructure and thermal management solutions, focusing on how Auras products integrate advanced intelligent cooling systems and temperature control technologies. By leveraging AI-driven monitoring and control, energy efficiency is significantly improved. Looking ahead, as AI technology advances, intelligent infrastructure and innovative thermal management will become key drivers for high-performance computing and green energy saving.
The Universal Quick-Disconnect (UQD) has played a significant role in the cooling ecosystem for GPUs and genAI. In order to scale, and to further enable the adoption of liquid throughout the ecosystem, a workstream was established at the end of 2024 to develop a UQD Version 2. The purpose of this workstream is to update the UQD/UQDB v1 specification such that gaps in requirements and performance are resolved, ambiguity is removed, and true interoperability is defined and achievable. Key deliverables include unification of the UQD and UQDB as a singular specification, defined performance and interoperability testing requirements, and realization of a new mating configuration. Progress updates with relevant performance attributes and technical detail of the v2 proposal will be discussed, as well as plans for official release and deployment.
Beth Langer is the Lead Technical Engineer in the Thermal Management Business Unit at CPC where all connectors manufactured for liquid cooling applications meet or exceed established criterion.
Listeners will gain a clear understanding of the differences between single-phase (1P) and two-phase (2P) direct liquid cooling (DLC) technologies, including the thermal mechanisms, benefits, and limitations of each. The paper offers practical insights into real-world challenges of implementing 2P DLC, such as pressure drop effects, series vs. parallel configurations, and flow imbalance. A new method for calculating thermal resistance in 2P systems is introduced, enabling fair comparison to 1P systems. Listeners will also learn about economic and operational barriers to 2P adoption, including refrigerant costs and high system pressure. By the end, they will understand why 1P DLC is currently more viable for mass deployment and what advancements are needed for 2P DLC to become practical for data centers.
As compute densities soar and chip thermal loads rise, data centers are under pressure to deliver efficient, scalable cooling without extensive retrofits. 2-phase liquid cooling, integrated into modular sidecar systems, offers a high-performance, energy-efficient solution that meets this need while maintaining compatibility with existing infrastructure. The presentation will dive into how sidecar architectures—deployed alongside standard racks—leverage the latent heat of vaporization to manage extreme heat loads with minimal coolant flow. By maintaining constant temperatures across cold plates, 2-phase cooling ensures thermal uniformity for processors with varying power profiles, preventing hot spots and throttling. Key takeaways will include how 2-phase sidecars enable efficient, localized cooling without facility water, deployment strategies for retrofitting existing data centers without major disruption and environmental benefits such as reduced energy use and lower carbon footprint
This presentation will showcase the current two-phase CDU design and the two-phase cold plate samples. The test results of the two-phase cold plate samples are compared with those of the same samples filled with PG25 as the working fluid. Based on the comparison, the potential of the two-phase cold plates can be discovered. Without significantly altering the existing single-phase architecture, the two-phase coolant can be distributed freely to various racks, providing a solution for the chips with locally higher heat flux. Lastly, the future role of the pumped two-phase solution in the cooling environment, and the forthcoming business model will be discussed.
As data center power densities surge, traditional air cooling increasingly fails to meet thermal demands efficiently. This presentation explores the evolution of Direct Liquid Cooling (DLC), tracing its progression from single-phase to two-phase technologies. We begin by examining single-phase DLC, where coolant absorbs heat without phase change, offering reliable yet limited performance. We then transition to two-phase DLC, where phase change enables significantly higher heat flux dissipation through latent heat transfer. Key distinctions in efficiency, system complexity, and deployment readiness are analyzed. The session concludes with emerging trends such as low-GWP dielectric fluids and 3D chip cooling that position two-phase DLC as a critical enabler for next-generation high-performance computing and AI workloads.
The key focus of this presentation is on the safety requirements for liquid cooling technologies systems, particularly regarding pressurized liquid-filled components (LFCs), as addressed in Annex G.15 of IEC 62368-1. By analyzing the construction and testing requirements specified in the standard, this presentation offers insights into designing safe and reliable liquid cooling solutions aimed at mitigating risks associated with leaks, preventing hardware damage, and ensuring global regulatory compliance in AI and ML-driven data centers.
Enabling Direct Liquid Cooled (DLC) IT solutions in data center environments requires a comprehensive understanding of the facility design, Coolant Distribution Units (CDU), and the IT solutions. There are many interdependencies and design considerations when integrating and commissioning DLC solutions in data center environments. The Open Compute Project (OCP) Community has many workgroups which are addressing various aspects of the DLC solution enablement.
This study investigates galvanic corrosion in heterogeneous metal materials utilized in cold plate assemblies for single-phase liquid cooling systems. The galvanic corrosion behavior (Tafel plot) of pure copper, stainless steel 304, stainless steel 316, and nickel-based brazing fillers (BNi2 and BNi6) immersed in PG25 working fluid was measured on days 0, 7, and 60. Furthermore, accelerated aeration experiments were conducted on PG25 to assess its chemical stability, and its electrochemical properties were subsequently analyzed after 30 days of aeration using electrochemical methods.
cool data centers in a very energy-efficient way, and we recover and reuse the excess heat produced within the data centers. This is what we consider green digitalization!
This study explores the long-term stability of immersion cooling fluids through accelerated aging experiments designed to comply severer operational conditions. As immersion cooling becomes a vital solution in high-performance and data-intensive systems, understanding fluid deterioration behavior over thermal and metal induced decay is essential for ensuring system reliability. By subjecting the fluids to several thermal stress over time at the present of metal, we continuously monitor key aging indicators such as flash point descend, dielectric constant& tangent loss shift, viscosity change, acid number increase and oxide accumulate . These metrics are then used to construct predictive models that define its "" fluid's stability window"" under real-world conditions. The resulting approach enables manufacturers and system integrators to determine quality assurance periods more accurately, facilitating better maintenance planning and formulation design.
