Castrol and Schneider Electric have joined forces to open a new co-laboratory in Shanghai, designed to accelerate the adoption of liquid cooling solutions. 

The Shanghai facility will be jointly branded and was formed under a strategic partnership between the two companies. The hope is that by joining forces, the two companies will be able to develop, test and demonstrate innovations in data centre cooling technology – which is becoming an increasing challenge in the age of AI.

The co-laboratory’s core mission is to tackle some of the pressing technical hurdles standing in the way of liquid cooling adoption. As part of the collaboration, Castrol’s high-performance cooling fluids will integrate with Schneider Electric’s data centre infrastructure, such as the Cooling Distribution Unit (CDU), server racks and intelligent power distribution solutions. Both partners aim to carry out joint research and development to enhance heat dissipation, address product compatibility issues and provide one-stop liquid cooling packages for data centre operators.

Castrol and Schneider Electric note that this co-laboratory will serve as more than just a research hub; it will also operate as a demonstration centre, showcasing progress in liquid cooling to the industry at large. Beyond its initial projects, the collaboration could pave the way for expanded deployments of liquid cooling technology in a variety of scenarios, spurring innovation and energy efficiency throughout the sector.

Peter Huang, Vice President, Thermal Management at Castrol, commented, “In the era of AI, the construction of liquid cooling infrastructure in data centres is developing rapidly. Through Castrol’s strategic partnership with Schneider Electric, we will jointly provide end-to-end solutions for the construction, operation and maintenance of data centres, ranging from the hardware in server rooms to liquid cooling fluids.”