Recently, Tesla chief Elon Musk reposted the picture of a giant GPU cooler in Texas with a caption that read, “We are nothing without our fans.” He revealed that the facility will use around 130 MW of power and cooling this year, increasing to over 500 MW in the next 18 months.
This underscores the fact that despite the increasing relevance of liquid cooling, traditional air coolers with heatsinks and fans remain the most common cooling solution.
He also shared that Tesla’s next-generation self-driving computer, now called AI5 instead of Hardware 5 (HW5), will consume about four times the energy of the current HW3 and HW4 computers when it launches in vehicles in the second half of 2025.
As computing performance continues to advance, effective thermal management is becoming a key engineering challenge. This is especially true for top-tier GPUs, as traditional air cooling becomes inadequate for rack densities of 20 kW or more.
Challenges Facing Liquid Cooling Adoption
However, there’s resistance to the shift to liquid cooling in data centres due to significant challenges that operators navigate today—despite this infrastructure being able to handle the heavy workload that comes with heavier racks for GPUs.
One of the primary obstacles is the high initial cost of implementing liquid cooling systems. A study projects that the global data centre liquid cooling market will grow from $2.6 billion in 2023 to $7.8 billion by 2028, with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 24.4%.
This rapid growth underscores the substantial investments being made in this technology but also highlights the significant upfront costs that organisations must consider.
Infrastructure modifications present another major hurdle. Many existing data centres require extensive retrofitting to accommodate liquid cooling systems.
This challenge is reflected in a survey by Uptime Institute, which found that fewer than 10% of data centre operators have adopted liquid cooling at a significant scale. The complexity of these modifications often deters widespread adoption, particularly in older facilities.
This concern is not merely theoretical but grounded in reality with indicators like Data Center Physical Infrastructure (DCPI) revenue growth slowing down in the first quarter of 2024.
This slowdown is attributed to design shifts aimed at supporting accelerated computing infrastructure of AI workloads that need more time to materialise.
Liquid cooling systems also introduce new operational challenges. They are generally more complex to maintain than traditional air cooling systems, requiring regular inspections for leaks, fluid quality checks, and specialised maintenance procedures.
The risk of leaks is particularly concerning, as even small amounts of liquid can cause significant damage to sensitive electronic equipment. Additionally, not all IT equipment is designed for liquid cooling, which may necessitate investments in new, compatible hardware or the implementation of hybrid cooling solutions.
But, Liquid Cooling is Gaining Ground
Despite these challenges, liquid cooling is steadily gaining adoption. For instance, India-based Ctrls is using advanced cooling technologies including liquid cooling for its 13MW DC3 data centre.
A study by Persistence Market Research projects that the global data centre liquid cooling market will reach approximately $31.07 billion by 2032, growing at a CAGR of 25.8% from 2021 to 2032.
The shift towards liquid cooling is driven by its superior efficacy, with liquid cooling being up to 3,000 times more effective at heat transfer than air. Liquid cooling also offers superior efficiency, consuming about 10% less energy than air cooling and reducing carbon emissions proportionally.
Due to these reasons, approximately 22% of data centres now utilise some form of liquid cooling, according to IDC analyst Sean Graham.
This remarkable growth is fueled by several key factors. Increasing rack densities, which now frequently exceed 20-30 kW per rack, are pushing the limits of traditional air-cooling efficiency.
Additionally, the rise of AI, machine learning, and high-performance computing workloads is creating the need for more robust cooling solutions. Sustainability goals and energy efficiency requirements also play a crucial role in driving the adoption of liquid cooling technologies.
Best of Both Worlds
In response to these changing needs, many data centres are adopting hybrid approaches that combine air and liquid cooling. This strategy allows for a gradual transition to more advanced cooling methods without the need to overhaul existing infrastructure completely.
Such hybrid solutions provide a bridge between traditional air cooling systems and the more efficient liquid cooling technologies of the future.
As data centre demands evolve, cooling strategies are likely to become more diverse, with air cooling remaining a significant part of the mix alongside various liquid cooling technologies in the near future.
Conclusively, while liquid cooling is gaining significant traction in the data centre industry, air cooling remains the dominant cooling method in 2024. The industry is in a state of transition, with hybrid solutions bridging the gap between traditional and advanced cooling technologies.
