AI
“ Water consumption for data centres is a choice – a geographical choice dependent on power, land and what is required”
Tuan Hoang Head of Cooling Technology and Product Development Schneider Electric
Tuan Hoang, Head of Cooling Technology and Product Development at Schneider Electric, addressed this head-on at a global press event in Buffalo, New York.“ We do not need to consume water to operate data centres,” Tuan stated.“ Zero water is needed to cool AI data centres. Liquid cooling is required but it’ s for the load and radiators.”
Tuan emphasised that substantial water consumption is a design choice made by operators, rather than an unavoidable requirement of the technology.“ Water consumption for data centres is a choice – a geographical choice dependent on power, land and what is required... It’ s a choice to how you reject the heat and the myth that all data centres with liquid cooling are using lots of water, isn’ t true. We focus on high-efficiency chilling.”
For modern AI workloads, highefficiency closed-loop systems are replacing older evaporative cooling methods. Closed-loop chillers, such as Schneider Electric’ s Uniflair XCA line, are designed to reject heat directly into the outside air without consuming water.
As Tuan noted, this type of system“ does not use water, just radiates heat out.”
Rather than drawing continuously from local water systems, these closedloop chillers rely on a factory-sealed, dedicated volume of specialised cooling fluid. The specific formulations used in these systems are rigorously tested at manufacturing sites, such as the Motivair factories in Buffalo, New York. Because the cooling fluid is completely contained within a sealed loop, there is zero evaporation, zero environmental discharge and no need for continuous water replenishment. The initial fluid charge is designed to last for the entire operational life of the facility.
As the data centre industry enters the era of the AI factory, the path forward is uphill. Balancing grid integration challenges, heat regulations and rising density requirements demands a diverse portfolio of technologies. By embracing onsite clean generation, grid flexibility and closed-loop liquid cooling, the data centre ecosystem is proving that rapid digital expansion does not have to come at the cost of the planet.
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