Three Major Liquid Cooling Technologies for AI Data Center Thermal Management
Liquid cooling uses deionized water and fluorinated liquid to build closed heat dissipation loops, split into cold plate immersion and spray types. It cuts PUE below 1.05 and saves over 30% power, supporting racks above 130kW. China’s liquid cooling server market will hit 35.9 billion RMB in 2025 with 72.4% annual growth, and system penetration will rise from 7% to 45% by 2030. Professional liquid cooling CDU manufacturer supplies matched circulation hardware for all mainstream cooling architectures.
Cold plate cooling dominates the market with great compatibility and stability, accounting for 65% domestic share. Its system includes cooling towers CDU dual pipelines coolant and cabinets with copper aluminum cold plates. Coolant circulates through cold plates to absorb heat and exchange heat via CDU to outdoor facilities. Integrated CDU liquid cooling server rack package enables easy retrofit on existing servers without hardware reconstruction.
Cold plate cooling lowers PUE under 1.25 with no direct liquid contact to avoid leakage damage. To further reduce power consumption for long term operation, facilities adopt the energy optimized energy saving liquid cooling CDU for balanced flow and heat exchange.
Immersion cooling submerges hardware in dielectric liquid for direct heat transfer and becomes the long term mainstream for high density computing. It divides into single phase and phase change types with different circulating mediums. Customized immersion liquid cooling CDU stabilizes fluid temperature and pressure for continuous tank circulation.
Immersion cooling lifts rack density to 100–200kW and delivers PUE below 1.1 for phase change models while eliminating cooling fans and extra air conditioning. The high-performance efficient liquid CDU cooling system fully releases its thermal advantages for large AI training clusters.
Immersion cooling faces high renovation and medium cost limits for mass short term deployment. Operators pursuing green construction standards deploy the ultra-efficient low PUE liquid cooling CDU to meet strict carbon emission and energy efficiency requirements.
Spray cooling sprays coolant directly on chips for targeted heat dissipation, belonging to direct-contact cooling. It shares high heat transfer efficiency with immersion cooling but has low industry maturity due to liquid splashing risks. The dedicated direct liquid cooling CDU controls precise spray flow for chip level cooling loops.
Cold plate immersion and spray cooling cover all thermal demands of computing facilities, and standardized liquid cooling hardware serves as core support for booming global AI data center liquid cooling construction.
Recognized worldwide as a leader in liquid cooling, EXTRCOOL delivers a comprehensive range of thermal management equipment—from dual-mode CDUs and manifold assemblies to cold plates, rear-door heat exchangers, dry coolers, and containerized units—all purpose-built for AI and HPC data centers. Engineered for consistent reliability, seamless system integration, and straightforward scalability, these systems provide a complete turnkey solution. We collaborate with data center operators and enterprise clients across Eastern Europe, Southeast Asia, South America, Central Africa, and the Middle East.
