Vertiv: How Data Centres Can Cool Next-Gen AI Workloads
With AI deployment accelerating across every sector, data centres designed for traditional IT loads are struggling to manage the intense heat generated by specialised AI processors and high-density compute environments.
This thermal management challenge has prompted a shift away from conventional air cooling towards more efficient liquid-based approaches. As a result, cooling specialists are racing to develop solutions that can handle these dramatic heat increases while maintaining operational efficiency and meeting increasingly stringent environmental regulations.
Now, data centre infrastructure company Vertiv has introduced a new thermal management solution designed for the growing market of AI and high-performance computing facilities. The Vertiv CoolLoop Trim Cooler is built to handle the water temperature variations common in liquid-cooled systems – positioned as a response to the thermal challenges created by modern computational workloads.
The system integrates with existing liquid-cooled environments and can work with water temperatures up to 40°C while supporting cold plate functionality at 45°C, addressing specific needs of modern computing facilities.
“AI is dramatically changing the cooling profiles of today’s data centres, requiring innovative approaches to managing the thermal challenges inherent in 100kW+ racks,” comments Sam Bainborough, Vice President, Thermal Business EMEA at Vertiv.
AI workloads transform data centre cooling requirements
The rise of AI workloads has fundamentally altered thermal management needs across the data centre sector. Traditional air cooling systems are proving insufficient for the computational density now common in AI training and inference operations.
Rack densities that were once exceptional at 15-20kW are now routinely exceeding 100kW in AI-focused facilities, creating unprecedented cooling demands. This shift has accelerated the adoption of liquid cooling technologies, with water now becoming the primary medium for heat removal in high-performance environments.
The industry has responded with hybrid approaches combining traditional air cooling with targeted liquid solutions, creating new integration challenges for facility operators.
- 70% - Potential reduction in annual cooling energy consumption through combined free-cooling and mechanical operation
- 3MW - Maximum scalable cooling capacity in air-cooled configuration
- 45°C - Maximum temperature for cold plate functionality support, meeting the demands of modern AI systems
The CoolLoop Trim Cooler addresses these integration issues with its ability to operate across varying water temperature conditions, providing flexibility for facilities transitioning to hybrid cooling architectures.
Vertiv CoolLoop Trim Cooler offers energy consumption reductions
The company reports that the system provides up to 70% reduction in annual cooling energy consumption through a combination of free-cooling and mechanical operation modes. This comes alongside a 40% space reduction compared to traditional cooling systems.
The hardware uses direct water connections to integrate with the Vertiv CoolChip CDU coolant distribution units for chip cooling applications. It can also connect to immersion cooling systems, providing flexibility across different cooling applications.
AI is dramatically changing the cooling profiles of today’s data centres, requiring innovative approaches to managing the thermal challenges inherent in 100kW+ racks.
With scalable cooling capacity reaching nearly 3MW in air-cooled configurations, the system includes free cooling coils that are optimised for high ambient temperatures. This allows operations in free cooling mode across more seasonal conditions, reducing electrical consumption and carbon emissions.
Environmental compliance built into Vertiv cooling solution
Environmental regulations are increasingly influencing data centre cooling system selection. The CoolLoop Trim Cooler has been developed with these considerations in mind.
The system uses low-GWP refrigerant and meets the upcoming 2027 EU F-GAS regulations, which Vertiv notes will help customers avoid future infrastructure replacements or redesigns.
Vertiv has positioned the new product within its broader portfolio of thermal solutions designed for the computational demands of AI and high-performance computing workloads.
Integration with other Vertiv hardware has been a design priority, with the CoolLoop Trim Cooler connecting directly to the company's coolant distribution units as well as third-party immersion cooling systems.
The simplified connection approach is intended to reduce engineering and installation time for customers implementing complex cooling solutions such as chip-direct cooling applications and full immersion systems.
“Today’s announcement, and the ongoing expansion of Vertiv's industry-leading high-density thermal management portfolio, allow us to deliver pioneering, future-ready liquid cooling and chilled water solutions to meet our customers' AI-driven demands,” Sam says.
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