Global Switch Showcases Liquid Cooling at London Data Centre

As data centre and AI demands rise, liquid cooling continues to emerge as a superior method of cooling data centre components.

It boasts superior cooling capabilities compared to traditional air cooling, as well as lower carbon emissions, removing heat using a liquid coolant instead of air.

As the industry confronts sustainability challenges, new liquid cooling solutions are able to offer a significant solution for businesses looking to address environmental and demand concerns.

Global Switch has opened Europe’s first dedicated liquid cooling showcase in London’s Docklands, marking a pivotal step in data centre innovation and environmental responsibility.

Introducing Global Switch

Founded in 1998, Global Switch is a major owner, operator and developer of large-scale, carrier and cloud-neutral data centers in Europe and APAC.

Delivering mission-critical data centre solutions to the world’s leading connectivity hubs, Global Switch’s infrastructure provides its customers with the power, scale and connectivity required to drive their growth – meeting the requirements of today’s most advanced high compute and AI deployments.

Located in London’s Docklands, Global Switch’s London data centres — including the repurposed former Financial Times printing press — benefit from “irreplicable proximity and connectivity to key business centres and the flexibility of the infrastructure means that Global Switch can serve the whole breadth of the market,” the company says.

Ashley Muldoon, Global Switch’s CEO, says: “Across all our data centres worldwide, we are offering customers an opportunity to benefit from truly flexible infrastructure — including a complete suite of liquid cooling options. 

“Densification is the key to unlocking the potential of the most advanced AI and HPC workloads and continues to sit at the heart of our investment plans.”

Adam Eaton, Executive Group Director, Europe, at Global Switch, added: “Our London Campus is at the forefront of data centre technological innovation, not just in London but across the world. 

“Liquid cooling technologies will enable us to capture the significant growth expected in this market, meeting the vital digital infrastructure needs of the city’s most innovative businesses.”

Global Switch’s London LIVE Liquid Cooling Showcase

To present just how liquid cooling is transforming data centres, Global Switch opened up its Docklands facility to show how it is meeting the rising demands of AI and HPC.

With traditional air cooling systems struggling to keep pace with the exponential rise in rack power densities, liquid cooling — through direct-to-chip and immersion technologies — enables data centres like Global Switch’s to support the most powerful chips while maintaining optimal temperatures and efficiency.

Global Switch’s presentation suite features four live, cutting-edge liquid cooling solutions, developed in partnership with six leading digital infrastructure suppliers, including Liquidstack and SuperMicro. 

A first for Europe, the London showcase allows customers to experience direct-to-chip and immersion cooling technologies firsthand. 

Among the highlights is the Accelsius Thermal Simulation Rack, which simulates real-world AI and HPC heat loads for live benchmarking — helping customers evaluate next-generation cooling without disrupting production hardware. 

“We are trying to be at the forefront of liquid cooling,” Ben Ryder, Solutions Engineering Director at Global Switch told Data Centre Magazine at Global Switch’s showcase.

“We are speaking directly with suppliers and rack integrators and we have open engagement with a number of our customers. We demonstrate here a lot of technologies that many may not be particularly aware of and that shows where we are.

“We’ve pulled everything we’re aware of and excited about into this showcase.”

Matthew Dent, Chief Commercial Officer at Global Switch, added: “Our customers are still exploring new technologies themselves and how they can best utilise it.

“We’re helping them on that journey.”

What’s next for Global Switch?

With London’s data centre market booming thanks to record investments in AI start-ups — including £2.9bn (US$3.9bn) pledged in 2024 alone — it is fast establishing itself as Europe’s largest data centre hub. 

As industry analysts predict that London’s data centre capacity will double between 2025 and 2026 despite ongoing constraints in space and power availability, Global Switch is continuing to expand its operations.

With 224MVA of secured power and flexible infrastructure, Global Switch can serve a broad spectrum of customers, from hyperscale deployments to emerging AI firms.

“While there is a lot of discussion around AI and high-performance compute, there’s still very much demand for traditional colocation space with enterprise companies,” Adam said.

Global Switch’s London East is going through a phase of redevelopment, where the capacity of multiple floors will be significantly increased.

The former Financial Times printing press was converted into a data centre by Global Switch in 1998 and is seen as one of the foremost developments of the London campus, expanding data centre capacity in the area.

Its neighbouring London South data centre is in the early phases of construction and, on completion in 2027, will be a 35MW facility.

Global Switch’s London campus in the Spice Docks area of London Docklands — also known as East India Docks — will be, when all phases are completed, 160MW.

It is surrounded by other data centre developments, including Telehouse’s 30MW facility nearby.

Noting that other London hubs — such as Slough — are maxed out when it comes to capacity and power, Adam added: “The Spice Docks will be a significant campus development on the east side. There is a lot of demand in the east end of London so the fact that we have our 224MVA secured coming into this site, we’re seeing a lot of growth, hence supporting the growth of our campus.”

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