How Ecolab’s CoolIT Acquisition Advances Water Stewardship

As the world observes World Water Day, focus turns once more to the vital resources driving our hyper-connected digital age.
Few areas illustrate this tension more clearly than the expanding network of global data centres — the computational backbones that store our communications, stream our media, and now power artificial intelligence.

But these same facilities consume immense amounts of electricity and often rely on water-heavy cooling systems to stay operational.

There’s reason for optimism, however. Companies like CoolIT Systems are pioneering advanced liquid-cooling technologies designed for next-generation AI data centres.

With Ecolab’s announcement that it will acquire CoolIT Systems, digital infrastructure takes a step toward more sustainable growth. The proposed US$4.75bn deal, expected to complete later this year, will combine CoolIT’s leading liquid-cooling solutions with Ecolab’s century-long expertise in water management — creating a partnership that could reshape how the world powers and cools data sustainably.

“AI is transforming the demands on data centers, and liquid cooling is one of the critical technologies that makes advanced computing possible,” said Christophe Beck, Ecolab Chairman and CEO.

“By bringing together CoolIT’s engineered cooling technologies with Ecolab’s expertise in water, chemistry and digital service, we can provide our customers a complete cooling solution that improves performance and reliability while reducing water and energy use.”

“This acquisition expands our role in serving the AI ecosystem—semiconductor fabs that manufacture chips, power plants that fuel the chips, and data centers that utilise the chips—and positions Ecolab as the partner that the world’s largest technology companies rely on to grow responsibly and sustainably."

Data centre cooling

As AI workloads grow exponentially, traditional air-cooling methods for data centres are reaching their limits. NVIDIA’s GPUs and other high-density chips generate exceptional levels of heat, making thermal management both a performance and environmental challenge.

CoolIT Systems, a leader in liquid cooling, offers advanced systems that either replace or complement air-cooling with efficient, targeted liquid loops. By removing heat directly at the chip level, direct liquid cooling (DLC) sharply reduces both water and power consumption per unit of compute.

This approach allows major cloud providers — including Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure and Google Cloud — to simultaneously increase computing capacity and lower resource waste. At scale, such technologies hold the potential to reduce the overall environmental footprint of the global digital economy.

About CoolIT

Founded more than 25 years ago, Canada-based CoolIT Systems has become synonymous with high-performance liquid cooling. Its technologies — from coolant distribution units (CDUs) and cold plates to rack manifolds — underpin the operations of some of the world’s largest data centres.

Operating across Canada, China and Vietnam, with Liquid Lab research hubs in Calgary and Taipei, CoolIT delivers engineered solutions designed for scalability and efficiency.

Collaborations with leading semiconductor manufacturers including NVIDIA and AMD illustrate CoolIT’s critical role where hardware innovation meets sustainability. Its modular cooling solutions enable data centres to manage ever-denser compute loads while cutting energy and water waste — crucial metrics for sustainability reporting and progress toward corporate net-zero goals.

The future of Ecolab

For Ecolab, acquiring CoolIT aligns seamlessly with its mission to protect “what’s vital” — people, planet and performance.

Globally recognised for its water, hygiene and infection prevention solutions, Ecolab already partners with more than 1,000 data centres to optimise cooling, energy efficiency and water stewardship using a mix of chemistry, automation and digital insight.

This transaction will double Ecolab’s opportunity in the high-tech cooling space, expanding its addressable market from US$5bn to US$10bn and driving global water-related sales growth by about 2%.

Beyond the figures, the move reinforces Ecolab’s role in enabling industries to transition toward smarter, more resource-efficient operations.

As part of its 2030 Impact Goals, the company aims to help customers conserve enough water each year to meet the drinking needs of one billion people. When paired with CoolIT’s scalable liquid-cooling capabilities, that ambition may position Ecolab at the centre of sustainable digital infrastructure — balancing the world’s surging demand for data with its urgent obligation to safeguard one of humanity’s most precious resources.