• • • AI • • •
WHY HYBRID COOLING WILL
SHAPE THE NEXT GENERATION OF AI DATA CENTRES
environments, and simplifying the transition toward liquid-cooled infrastructure. Rather than representing competing
BY KLAUS DAFINGER, COOLING MARKETING MANAGER, LEGRAND
centre infrastructure. As rack densities continue to rise, operators
A
are increasingly evaluating liquid cooling technologies to overcome the limitations of traditional air-cooled environments. Direct-to-chip (D2C) liquid cooling has emerged
as a key technology for supporting extreme-density AI and HPC deployments by removing heat directly from processors and accelerators. At the same time, Rear Door Heat Exchangers (RDHx) continue to play an important role in enabling higher rack densities, supporting retrofit
rtificial intelligence, accelerated computing and high-performance workloads are rapidly reshaping data
approaches, RDHx and D2C are increasingly being deployed together as part of hybrid cooling strategies designed to balance performance, operational flexibility and infrastructure readiness. For many operators, the challenge is no longer
deciding whether liquid cooling has a place in the data centre, but how different cooling technologies can work together as AI deployments expand. Few organisations can redesign an entire facility around a single cooling architecture, making a phased approach to cooling modernisation the more practical option.
The reality of liquid
cooling adoption While AI is accelerating the need for liquid cooling, most facilities are not transitioning overnight from traditional air cooling to fully liquid-cooled architectures.
20 ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING • JULY/AUGUST 2026 Recent AFCOM research highlights this
gradual evolution. The 2026 State of the Data Center Survey found that 31 per cent of respondents cited integration complexity as a major obstacle to liquid cooling adoption, while another 31 per cent cited cost concerns. Although 36 per cent reported having deployed liquid cooling, many organisations remain in the early stages of implementation. Notably, 37 per cent of respondents identified Rear Door Heat Exchangers as a liquid cooling technology they are either deploying or actively evaluating.
This reflects the broader market reality: • Some next-generation AI platforms are designed around D2C cooling from the start.
• Other facilities must balance legacy infrastructure, mixed workloads, operational procedures and phased investment cycles.
• Many environments will operate hybrid cooling architectures for years to come.
electricalengineeringmagazine.co.uk
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