Demand for Efficient Data Centers Helps Grow Data Center Liquid Cooling Market

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The rise in demand in green data centers, especially due to an emphasis on digitalization and cloud-based services, is leading to a significant increase in the data center liquid cooling market, according to a report.

With a focus on using green data centers to manage costs and efficiency and to reduce the carbon footprint of energy intensive technological advances, demand for the liquid cooling market is expected to grow to $31 billion at a CAGR of nearly 26% from 2022 to 2032, according to the Persistence Market Research report. Data center liquid cooling technology provides better efficiency for high rack densities, compared with air-based cooling systems, and also has a lower cost of ownership, smaller footprint and enhanced reliability, the report says.

According to the International Energy Agency, data centers accounted for 200 to 250 terawatt hours of electricity use worldwide in 2020, around 1% of total electricity demand. That doesn’t account for the power demand for high energy cryptocurrency mining, which added around another 100 terawatt hours of electricity use.

As technology continues to expand along with the demand for data centers to power a variety of services, the need to increase sustainability of these services also increases. Along with the liquid cooling market, the data center power and energy efficient data center markets are also expected to rapidly expand.

Additionally, water use is a consideration in the market, according to the report. Facilities in warm and humid areas tend to use more water for cooling, according to Persistence Market Research, and liquid cooling can reduce water consumption. A report by NBC says a data center can use up to 5 million gallons of water a day.

The report says two-phase liquid immersion cooling is the latest advancement in data center cooling tech. It is has a higher boiling point, prevents fluid degeneration and does not need a pump.

Cold plates and direct liquid cooling are estimated to lead the market expansion, each growing at nearly a third over the analyzed period. The telecom and IT sector is expected to dominate the market, with a CAGR of almost 31%.

Large data centers that take up more than 5,000 square feet are expected to hold the highest share of the liquid cooling market at nearly 57%.

North America and Europe will lead the market in 2022, with the United States leading the market with an 18% growth over the period. South Asia and Pacific will be the fastest growing region through 2032, and India is expected to grow at 31% through 2032.

The need for efficient data centers is further highlighted by new facilities by Facebook and SkyBox Datacenters, which aim to be run on renewable energy. Other types of cooling systems also have been implemented to tackle energy efficiency in buildings and other facilities, including data centers, such as a smart HVAC system by Turntide Technologies, which it says can cut energy use by an average of 64%.