Dive Brief:
- LiquidStack is now shipping its new high-performance coolant distribution unit worldwide, the company announced Aug. 22. The CDU is designed for universal compatibility with commercial direct-to-chip cooling systems, LiquidStack said.
- Built for direct-to-chip cooling systems that serve data centers running high performance computing arrays, generative AI and large language models, the CDU-1MW can ease CDU supply constraints in the direct-to-chip cooling segment amid rapidly rising demand for standardized CDUs, according to a news release.
- The CDU-1MW delivers up to 1,350 kW in cooling capacity and is designed to support the anticipated power density of state-of-the-art server racks “for the next several years” with potential partial power usage effectiveness ratios as low as 1.1, compared with an industry standard of just below 1.6, said Nick Schweissguth, director of product management at LiquidStack.
Dive Insight:
The energy density of data centers’ server racks is increasing amid the growing adoption of AI and high-performance computing applications.
A study LiquidStack, Chemours and the Syska Hennessy Group conducted in March noted that, as of last year, 5% of data centers were already reporting rack densities of 50 kW or higher. The study projected that rack densities of more than 100 kW would likely become the norm over time. IDC estimates that JLL cited in a January study suggest that average rack densities at hyperscale data centers will reach 50 kW per rack by 2027.
Liquid cooling systems like the CDU-1MW are essential to support higher-density data centers, Schweissguth said.
“The latest AI racks are 100% liquid-cooled. Therefore, existing air-cooled data centers cannot rely on their existing air cooling anymore,” Schweissguth said. “CDUs provide a performance benefit by using liquid instead of air, which inherently makes it more powerful.”
The CDU-1MW operates at elevated liquid temperatures, reducing the workload on data centers’ outdoor cooling plants and decreasing overall power and water consumption, Schweissguth noted.
The LiquidStack/Chemours/Syska Hennessy Group study found power usage effectiveness ratios as low as 1.23 for data centers using liquid cooling solutions, representing a 62% improvement over the industry standard of approximately 1.6, Schweissguth said. Adding dedicated water loops for CDUs could further reduce PUEs to as low as 1.1, he added.
Due in part to lower energy requirements, the CDU-1MW offers an estimated 25% improvement in total cost of ownership over 20 years, according to LiquidStack’s website. The company touts that its system achieves a 36% reduction in energy used for cooling and a 48% reduction in capital expenditures versus air cooling.
With a width of 35 inches, a depth of 49 inches deep and a height of 87 inches, the CDU-1MW is also space-efficient, ensuring that “the customer's liquid cooling solution can support the highest number of server racks,” Schweissguth said.
Shifting to liquid cooling solutions with higher energy and water efficiency and lower land usage than traditional air cooling solutions can improve large-scale data centers’ ESG metrics as they pursue more resource-intensive computing applications like AI, Schweissguth noted.
The CWU-1MW enables interoperability with “multiple CDU vendors,” ensuring compatibility with a “wide range of direct-to-chip systems and configurations,” LiquidStack noted in its Aug. 22 announcement. It comes with additional features such as two-way pressure independent control valves for liquid flow management, an automatic transfer switch with supercapacitor for backup power, and 25-micron filters, Schweissguth said.
