Behind Dow and Solenis’ Data Centre Cooling Partnership

As data centres push deeper into liquid cooling, attention is moving beyond the coolant itself and towards a less visible challenge: keeping those fluids performing reliably over time.

While much of the industry conversation focuses on cooling hardware and fluid selection, long-term coolant health is becoming a critical operational consideration for facilities seeking to maximise uptime.

That focus sits at the heart of a new agreement between water treatment and process solutions provider Solenis and materials science company Dow.

Under the arrangement, Solenis is joining Dow’s Coolant Care Network for Data Centers as an approved service provider, supporting operators that use DOWFROST™ LC and DOWFROST™ HD heat transfer fluids in direct-to-chip liquid cooling environments.

Bringing fluid management into the data centre spotlight

Direct-to-chip liquid cooling is gaining traction as operators address the thermal demands of dense computing environments.

However, maintaining coolant quality over time presents a distinct set of operational requirements.

Through its role in the Coolant Care Network, Solenis will provide services designed to monitor fluid condition, identify degradation, reduce contamination risks and support overall system reliability.

The company says its offering includes advanced coolant chemistry monitoring and analytics, predictive maintenance programmes, corrosion and fouling mitigation, onsite and remote support services and closed-loop treatment optimisation.

These capabilities are aimed at extending fluid lifespan while reducing the risk of unplanned downtime linked to coolant performance issues.

Chuck Carn, Dow Data Center Growth Platform Director, says the partnership combines expertise from both organisations to support customers running liquid-cooled infrastructure.

“The carefully selected Dow Coolant Care Network supports data centre owners with routine testing and fluid management to protect DOWFROST™ Heat Transfer Fluid performance and system reliability," Chuck says.

“In partnership with Solenis, we combine their deep data centre and cooling expertise and local service reach with DOWFROST™ Technology and application expertise to deliver simple, dependable solutions that increase uptime and reduce operational risk.” 

Chem-Aqua strengthens Solenis’ data centre credentials

Solenis’ addition to the network also builds on its expanding presence in the data centre sector.

The company recently strengthened its capabilities through the addition of Chem-Aqua following Solenis’ acquisition of NCH Corporation, Chem-Aqua’s parent organisation.

That move brought established expertise in cooling water treatment, water reuse systems, digital monitoring and analytics platforms, as well as industrial fluid chemistry and system protection into the Solenis portfolio.

These capabilities align closely with the requirements emerging around liquid cooling deployments, where continuous monitoring and proactive maintenance are becoming increasingly important.

Operators are paying closer attention to how coolants interact with infrastructure over extended operating periods.

Issues such as corrosion, contamination, fouling and biofilm formation can affect cooling performance and reliability if not actively managed.

By combining Chem-Aqua’s water treatment heritage with Solenis’ broader industrial expertise, the company is positioning itself to support data centre operators throughout the operational life of liquid cooling systems.

A lifecycle approach to liquid cooling

As liquid cooling becomes more widely deployed, maintaining stable performance across cooling loops is emerging as an important operational priority.

Mike Howdeshell, President of Chem-Aqua, Solenis’ light water treatment business, believes the focus should extend well beyond the coolant itself.

“Sustainable, high-performance cooling is not just about the fluid. It’s about how it performs over time within the system,” he said.

“This collaboration with Dow allows Solenis to deliver a consultancy-first, 360-degree lifecycle approach to liquid cooling, helping data centre operators optimise both the fluid loop and the broader system for long-term resilience and operational efficiency.”

That lifecycle perspective is now more relevant as operators scale liquid cooling deployments to support high-density workloads.

While cooling technologies often attract the most attention, the operational processes that keep those systems running effectively are just as important.

The Solenis-Dow agreement introduces a structured framework for fluid monitoring to facilities deploying DOWFROST™ LC and DOWFROST™ HD fluids.

As liquid cooling infrastructure becomes a larger part of data centre operations, managing coolant health is moving from a specialist consideration to a mainstream operational requirement.