Not long ago, most data centre racks would be around 20 kW. But that’s no longer the case, with many now reaching highs well above 100 kW, and there are even racks on the horizon that could eclipse 600 kW. That makes us ask the question — is air cooling up to the task? Well, in our new Trend Report, Cooling Data Centres – Enabling the Next Wave of Compute, we chart how the thermal equation is being rewritten – and what designers, owners and investors must do to stay in the game.
Inside, we focus on how three key elements are colliding: runaway compute density, soaring electricity demand and tightening sustainability targets. This is all forcing the data centre industry to rethink how it cools down its racks, from cold plates to cryogenics. To get the lowdown, we spoke to industry experts from Airsys, Equinix, Stellium, Schneider Electric, Supermicro, Sandia National Laboratories and more to separate the cooling hype from hard engineering reality.
In this report you’ll discover:
- Where air cooling finally taps out
- The options available in the realm of liquid cooling
- How a shift to 50 kW+ racks reshapes capex (and opex), why facility floor loading and water loops drive hidden costs, and the true TCO delta between air and liquid architectures out to 2030.
- Ways in which machine-learning thermal controllers can help unlock lower PUEs.
- What we can do about the industry’s reputation for guzzling water.
Plus, we have exclusive commentary from Castrol’s Global VP for Thermal Management, Peter Huang, who reveals why 74 % of operators now view immersion cooling as the only viable path to exascale — and how dielectric fluids could slash annual water use by 3.5 million litres.
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