As artificial intelligence accelerates data centre workloads, traditional cooling methods are struggling to keep up. With power density on the rise, operators face an urgent question: how do we manage this energy without compromising efficiency or sustainability?
Hybrid cooling solutions are fast becoming the answer for data centres. But are they enough to future-proof for the AI era? In this article, part of our Future of Data Centres series, Nick Remington, Technical Director at Black & White Engineering, shares his perspective on what’s changing, what’s working and what’s coming next.
How AI is Transforming Power and Cooling Demands
Demand for data centre capacity is already at a historic high due to cloud hosting, enterprise platforms and data storage. But AI has taken that demand to a new level.
We’re seeing a tangible shift across the board from hyperscale and neocloud developers towards significantly higher power densities. This is largely driven by the rapid deployment of AI GPUs, vastly reshaping how data centres are designed, built and operated.
What Are the Advantages of Hybrid Cooling Over Traditional Solutions?
As power density increases, traditional air-cooling methods are no longer sufficient. Hybrid cooling systems combine air and liquid cooling technologies, such as direct-to-chip and immersion cooling. Liquid cooling removes heat directly from the GPU’s heat source offering a far more efficient heat transfer compared to air.
These systems improve the facility’s Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE), helping reduce operational emissions and power consumption. Higher power density means less white space is needed, reducing the overall building footprint, lowering capital costs, speeding up construction and the permit approval process as well as cutting embodied carbon.
Can Hybrid Systems Support Sustainability Goals?
Hybrid systems offer higher efficiency, particularly in reducing Scope 2 emissions. By operating the facility water system (FWS) at higher temperatures, we can minimise the use of chiller compressors, lowering energy use even further. The cooling distribution units (CDUs) used in these solutions consume significantly less power than traditional air-cooling fans, offering further PUE improvements.
Another key benefit is heat reuse. With a high-temperature FWS, there’s a real opportunity to export heat to surrounding buildings or feed into a district heating network. While this doesn’t drastically improve data centre performance, it has a meaningful impact on the wider built environment.
The Future Outlook: Will Hybrid Cooling Become the New Standard in Data Centres?
The rise of hybrid cooling is directly linked to the uptake in AI deployment. While some large hyperscalers have recently slowed AI investments, the broader trend remains clear. A new generation of GPU cloud operator, the neoclouds, have arrived and are pushing these limits to suit the latest GPU requirements.
There’s strong momentum in AI adoption because of its wide-reaching benefits, from generative AI and large language models (LLMs) to advanced science and economic growth. We expect this demand to continue rising at pace and cooling strategies must evolve accordingly.
Direct-to-chip has widely been the immediate industry accepted solution. This will soon be followed by 2-phase liquid cooling and immersion cooling, all readily available and offering different benefits with increasing capacities.
Let’s Talk About Smarter Cooling
As AI pushes data centres to new performance thresholds, hybrid cooling offers a compelling way to stay ahead, balancing high-efficiency performance with long-term sustainability. This shift won’t happen overnight, but for data centre developers, designers and operators, the time to explore and implement smarter cooling strategies is now.
For more on hybrid cooling solutions in data centres you can hear from Nick and other industry experts in a recent feature for News in the Channel.
At Black & White Engineering, we work closely with data centre developers to implement innovative solutions that support these goals. If you are looking to future-proof your data centre infrastructure, get in touch with us to continue the conversation.
