Liquid-cooled AI data center racks with CDU infrastructure
The right liquid-cooling vendor shortlist depends on the system you are building. A company focused on cold plates and coolant distribution units (CDUs) solves a different problem from a supplier of immersion tanks or a specialist in two-phase dielectric cooling. Comparing them in one undifferentiated ranking makes procurement harder, not easier.
For AI and high-performance computing projects, start by defining the heat-capture method, the facility water interface, the server platform, and the desired integration scope. Then evaluate companies that fit that architecture.
The nine liquid cooling data center companies below are not ranked. They are grouped by the capabilities a design team should investigate during early-stage engineering and vendor qualification.
Puntos clave
- Select a cooling architecture before creating a vendor shortlist.
- Direct-to-chip projects need more than cold plates: review CDUs, manifolds, hoses, controls, filtration, and facility integration.
- Immersion cooling changes server service procedures and white-space layout, so evaluate it as an operating model.
- Two-phase and dielectric-fluid approaches can offer different thermal characteristics but require careful hardware, fluid, and support review.
- Use a request for information (RFI) to compare validated performance at your operating temperatures and flow conditions.
Shortlist Companies by Cooling Architecture First
Before contacting suppliers, define the project boundary. Are you purchasing individual CDUs, a rack-level liquid loop, a complete white-space system, or an integrated deployment with heat-rejection equipment? The answer determines which vendors belong in the comparison.
Company | Capability to investigate | Suitable evaluation context |
|---|---|---|
CoolIT Systems | Direct liquid cooling, cold plates, CDUs, manifolds | Enterprise AI, hyperscale, and HPC D2C projects |
Vertiv | Liquid-cooling infrastructure, CDUs, integration | Data center infrastructure projects requiring facility coordination |
Motivair by Schneider Electric | CDUs, chillers, heat-rejection and liquid-cooling systems | Projects connecting IT cooling to plant-level infrastructure |
Boyd | Liquid-cooling components and engineered thermal solutions | OEM and system-integration programs |
Submer | Immersion cooling and related data center solutions | Purpose-designed immersion deployments |
LiquidStack | Immersion and direct-to-chip liquid-cooling solutions | High-density AI and HPC projects |
ZutaCore | Dielectric direct-on-chip cooling | Projects evaluating waterless server-level heat capture |
Accelsius | Two-phase direct-to-chip cooling | AI and HPC designs evaluating two-phase architectures |
JetCool | Microconvective liquid cooling | Dense compute deployments requiring chip-level thermal performance |
The table is a starting point, not a substitute for engineering review. Product scope, regional support, validated server compatibility, and commercial availability should be confirmed directly with each supplier.
Direct-to-Chip and CDU Companies
1. CoolIT Systems
CoolIT Systems focuses on direct liquid cooling for data centers and HPC environments. Its portfolio includes cold plates, manifolds, and CDUs, making it relevant when the project team wants to evaluate the full secondary coolant loop rather than one component in isolation.
During qualification, ask for performance curves at the required supply temperature, flow rate, and pressure drop. Also confirm how the proposed CDU controls pumps, manages filtration, reports alarms, and interfaces with the facility water system.
2. Vertiv
Vertiv provides data center infrastructure and liquid-cooling solutions, including CDU-focused approaches for high-density computing. Vertiv is useful to evaluate when the project requires coordination between rack-level cooling, facility heat rejection, power infrastructure, and deployment support.
For a retrofit, confirm the acceptable facility-water conditions and whether the selected solution is intended for row-level, rack-level, or larger distribution. Review redundancy options and the service model for pumps, heat exchangers, controls, and replaceable components.
3. Motivair by Schneider Electric
Motivair supplies liquid-cooling and heat-rejection equipment for high-performance applications. Schneider Electric announced its acquisition of a controlling interest in Motivair in February 2025, which makes the combined offering relevant for projects that need to connect white-space liquid cooling with broader data center infrastructure.
This category is particularly important when a project may require CDUs, chillers, dry coolers, or other heat-rejection equipment as a coordinated system. Ask which controls are integrated, which interfaces remain the facility operator’s responsibility, and what operating envelope is warranted.
4. Boyd
Boyd provides liquid-cooling components and engineered thermal-management solutions. It is relevant for original equipment manufacturers and system integrators that need to evaluate cold plates, liquid loops, and custom thermal assemblies.
Boyd should be assessed differently from a company offering a complete data hall deployment. Define whether you need component engineering, a subsystem, or a site-level solution. That distinction keeps the RFI focused and makes proposals easier to compare.
Immersion Cooling Companies
5. Submer
Submer is associated with immersion-cooling infrastructure for high-density computing. Immersion cooling places servers in dielectric fluid, allowing heat to be collected directly from hardware rather than relying primarily on airflow through racks.
When evaluating an immersion platform, include operational questions that do not appear in a standard rack procurement. Review approved server configurations, fluid handling, technician access, lifting equipment, floor loading, tank maintenance, heat-exchanger connections, and pump redundancy.
6. LiquidStack
LiquidStack develops liquid-cooling solutions for high-density data centers, including immersion and direct-to-chip approaches. It belongs on a shortlist when the design team is still comparing cooling architectures or needs a supplier that can discuss more than one method.
Ask the vendor to state which solution is recommended for the target server platform and why. The decision should be supported by thermal performance, deployment constraints, service workflow, and total facility impact rather than cooling capacity alone.
Specialized Dielectric and Chip-Level Cooling Companies
7. ZutaCore
ZutaCore develops direct-on-chip cooling technology using dielectric fluid. This approach is relevant when a project team wants to evaluate server-level liquid cooling while reducing dependence on water inside the IT equipment.
The RFI should clarify fluid properties, hardware compatibility, coolant management, heat-rejection interface, monitoring, service procedures, and the validated operating envelope. Avoid comparing the system with water-based D2C cooling solely on a headline capacity number.
8. Accelsius
Accelsius develops two-phase direct-to-chip cooling technology for high-density compute environments. In a two-phase system, the working fluid changes phase as it absorbs heat, creating a different thermal and hydraulic design from a conventional single-phase water or water-glycol loop.
For engineering review, ask how the solution integrates with the rack, how fluid is contained and monitored, what facility-side equipment is required, and which server configurations have been validated. Maintenance procedures should be reviewed early because they affect operational readiness.
9. JetCool
JetCool focuses on microconvective liquid-cooling technology for processors and dense computing systems. It is relevant when the thermal challenge is concentrated at the chip level and the design team needs to investigate heat-transfer performance close to the silicon.
As with any chip-level solution, evaluate the complete path from component heat capture to facility heat rejection. A strong cold-plate result does not remove the need to size manifolds, pumps, controls, heat exchangers, and residual air cooling correctly.
Questions to Ask Before Sending an RFQ
A useful request for quotation should describe the operating conditions clearly enough for vendors to propose comparable solutions. Include:
- What rack-level and chip-level heat loads must be supported now and after expansion?
- Which server, CPU, GPU, and accelerator platforms are in scope?
- What coolant supply and return temperatures are available?
- What facility-water temperature, flow, pressure, and water quality can the site provide?
- Is the design single-phase, two-phase, direct-to-chip, immersion, or still open for evaluation?
- Which equipment must the vendor supply: cold plates, manifolds, hoses, CDUs, pumps, controls, chillers, or dry coolers?
- What redundancy level is required for pumps, CDUs, controls, and heat-rejection equipment?
- How will leak detection, isolation, filtration, commissioning, and preventive maintenance be handled?
- Which monitoring protocols and building-management-system interfaces are supported?
- What local commissioning, spare-parts, and service coverage is available?
These questions expose the practical differences between suppliers. They also prevent a low-cost component quote from being compared with a proposal that includes controls, redundancy, commissioning, and facility integration.
Do Not Ignore the Pumping System
Liquid cooling depends on stable coolant flow. In a direct-to-chip design, pumps may circulate fluid through CDUs, heat exchangers, manifolds, hoses, and cold plates. In an immersion system, pumps may serve tank circulation and external heat exchangers.
On the facility side, chilled-water or condenser-water pumps move heat toward chillers, dry coolers, or cooling towers.
Pump selection should be based on the required flow rate and total dynamic head for the actual circuit. Review NPSH margin, variable-speed control, redundancy, minimum-flow limits, material compatibility, filtration, and service access. The cooling technology and the hydraulic design must be evaluated together.
Preguntas frecuentes
Which companies make liquid cooling systems for data centers?
Companies active in this field include CoolIT Systems, Vertiv, Motivair by Schneider Electric, Boyd, Submer, LiquidStack, ZutaCore, Accelsius, and JetCool. Their scopes differ, so shortlist them according to cooling architecture and integration needs.
What is the difference between direct-to-chip and immersion cooling?
Direct-to-chip cooling uses cold plates on high-heat components such as CPUs and GPUs. Immersion cooling places the server hardware in dielectric fluid. The two approaches have different piping, service, hardware-compatibility, and facility-layout requirements.
What does a CDU do in a liquid-cooled data center?
A coolant distribution unit transfers heat between the technology cooling loop and the facility water loop. It can also provide pumps, heat exchangers, controls, monitoring, filtration, and isolation functions.
Should a data center buy CDUs and pumps from the same supplier?
Not necessarily. What matters is that the selected pumps, heat exchangers, controls, and CDUs are engineered as a coordinated hydraulic system. Confirm responsibility for performance, controls integration, commissioning, and service before purchase.
How should liquid-cooling companies be compared?
Compare validated performance at your operating conditions, supported server platforms, facility interface, redundancy, controls, water or fluid requirements, commissioning scope, regional service, and lifecycle maintenance. Avoid selecting a vendor from a single capacity figure.
Conclusión
Liquid cooling data center companies should be evaluated by the problems they solve. CoolIT Systems, Vertiv, Motivair, and Boyd are relevant to direct-to-chip and infrastructure discussions. Submer and LiquidStack are useful when immersion is under review.
ZutaCore, Accelsius, and JetCool bring specialized chip-level or dielectric-fluid approaches into the comparison.
The next step is not to request generic pricing from every supplier. Define the architecture, rack loads, facility-water conditions, server platforms, redundancy, and service expectations first. A focused RFI will produce a shortlist that can survive detailed hydraulic design and operational review.