In the past month, a slew of lubricants, specialty chemicals, and IT infrastructure companies have launched or announced upcoming development partnerships focused on data center coolants. These developments reflect a broader industry trend toward sustainable, high-performance cooling solutions. As AI workloads intensify, integrated thermal management approaches are becoming essential to balance performance, reliability and environmental responsibility in digital infrastructure.
Data centers must meet ever-increasing energy demands driven by artificial intelligence and high-performance computing, luring companies across the thermal management and fluid engineering sectors into collaborations to develop advanced cooling fluids.
Giga Computing and Castrol signed a memorandum of understanding to jointly develop advanced liquid cooling technologies, according to Giga Computing. The partnership will involve developing cold plates, optimizing coolants, and deploying immersion cooling infrastructure, starting in the UK.
Shell introduced DLC Fluid S3, a propylene glycol-based coolant for direct liquid cooling in data centers. The fluid is compatible with Open Compute Project standards, making it suitable for modern digital infrastructure.
At the end of May, Chemours agreed to supply DataVolt with fluids from its two-phase Opteon product line. Chemours also announced a manufacturing partnership with India’s Navin Fluorine International to produce Opteon immersion cooling fluids. The facility, planned for Gujarat with a $14 million investment, will begin operations by fiscal 2027.
This move supports Chemours’ Liquid Cooling Venture, which aims to expand sustainable cooling solutions for AI and semiconductor applications. Navin Fluorine brings fluorochemical manufacturing expertise, contributing to local production and a reduced carbon footprint.
Thailand-based PSP Specialties signed a memorandum of understanding with China’s Eco Atlas and Germany’s Evonik to co-develop immersion cooling fluids with high thermal stability and environmental safety. Eco Atlas will provide engineering for immersion cooling systems, while Evonik will contribute advanced chemical formulations to meet evolving industry needs.
Engineered Fluids is working with Iceotope and Juniper Networks on immersion cooling solutions tailored for AI data centers. Their approach focuses on single-phase immersion cooling to reduce energy usage, operational costs, and carbon footprint. The collaboration integrates Engineered Fluids’ Decoolant, Iceotope’s precision cooling systems, and Juniper’s efficient networking gear. Together, the companies aim to offer a scalable, sustainable platform for next-generation IT environments.
Belgium-based Arteco has launched its Zirtec EC product line, marking its entry into data center cooling. Drawing on automotive expertise, Arteco offers direct-to-chip coolants made from mono propylene glycol and mono ethylene glycol. These fluids help reduce overheating, corrosion, and system failure. The company plans to release a bio-based version to align with sustainability goals, offering low-maintenance solutions that lower total cost of ownership.