Compute Power Surges by 300W! Liquid Cooling Rises from a “Niche Player” to the “Lifeline” of Intelligent Computing Centers

In 2025, China’s intelligent computing power scale surpassed 788 EFLOPS (FP16), while the power consumption of single AI server chips soared to over 300W. Traditional air-cooling systems have become “helpless” in the face of rising heat, with data center PUEs remaining high and increasingly clashing with the nation’s “dual carbon” goals. At this critical juncture, liquid cooling has shifted from a niche technology used in supercomputing to a mainstream solution for intelligent computing: it enables cabinet power density to easily exceed 40kW, lowers PUE below 1.05, and even provides tailored cooling solutions for new equipment such as 800G switches and AI optical modules. This “liquid over air” cooling revolution is not only an inevitable technological iteration but also the core key to breaking through development bottlenecks in the intelligent computing industry.

1. Policy Support + Demand Pressure Drive Liquid Cooling into the “Fast Lane”

On the policy front, the central and local governments are jointly promoting the technology. The National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) and three other ministries explicitly called for “advancing efficient cooling technologies such as liquid cooling” in their Special Action Plan for Green and Low-Carbon Development of Data Centers. Similarly, six ministries including the MIIT listed liquid cooling as a key support technology in the Action Plan for High-Quality Development of Computing Infrastructure.

(Source:Artificial Intelligence & Internet of Things)

Locally, Guangdong Province plans to double its computing power by 2025 while simultaneously strengthening edge computing and liquid cooling synergy. Beijing, in its “AI+” Action Plan, directly positioned liquid-cooled intelligent computing centers as a core support for optimized power scheduling.

Market demand is also shifting from “passive acceptance” to “active adoption.” On one hand, the intelligent computing center boom has spurred demand, with more than 30 cities launching projects nationwide. Cabinet power density is jumping from 20kW to 40kW. On the other hand, energy consumption pressure forces enterprises to transform: in 2024, China’s computing centers consumed 166 billion kWh, accounting for 1.68% of total social electricity use. Liquid cooling can save 10%–14% investment costs compared to air cooling. A typical case is Tesla xAI Colossus Data Center, which deployed 100,000 H100 GPUs using a cold-plate liquid-cooled cabinet design, ensuring stable operation for high-density computing.

(Source:China Telecom)

2. Dual Technical Pathways: Cold Plates and Immersion Each with Their Strengths

Cold-plate liquid cooling dominates due to its “low retrofit threshold.” Its core logic is to attach copper or aluminum cold plates to chips, indirectly transferring heat. IT equipment does not directly contact the coolant, making it highly compatible with existing intelligent computing centers. In 2024, China’s $2.37 billion liquid-cooled server market was overwhelmingly cold-plate based. For instance, China Telecom’s Lingang Computing Center adopted a hybrid “cold-plate + fan” solution, allowing flexible adjustment of cabinet power density from 8kW to 48kW.

(Source:China Academy of Information and Communications Technology)

Immersion liquid cooling, meanwhile, is seizing the high-end market with its “extreme energy efficiency.” Single-phase immersion systems can achieve PUE as low as 1.05, while two-phase systems leverage vaporization latent heat to handle high heat flux density. The “G-Flow” immersion server, jointly developed by H3C and Intel, employs a funnel-shaped radiator and directional flow pipes to ensure coolant passes directly over hot components, greatly boosting heat exchange efficiency.

However, immersion still faces a cost challenge—electronic fluorinated fluids have long been monopolized by 3M and Mobil. Although domestic firms such as Zhejiang Zhongxin Fluoromaterials have made breakthroughs, large-scale substitution will take time.

(Source:China Academy of Information and Communications Technology)

3. Industry Collaboration + Prefabricated Innovation Solve “Deployment Challenges”

The liquid cooling industry chain has formed an ecosystem of “upstream breakthroughs + midstream innovation + downstream expansion.”

Upstream components: Inovance and Gree Tech dominate the cold-plate market; Stäubli and Huawei launched blind-mate quick couplings for high-density scenarios.

Midstream equipment: Inspur Information and Huawei cover a full range of liquid-cooled servers, while switch vendors accelerate the rollout of 800G liquid-cooled products. Suzhou Dongwei Semiconductor developed its fourth-generation SiC MOSFETs, providing high-performance support for liquid cooling modules.

(Source:SSE STAR MARKET)

Downstream applications: Deployment in computing centers and edge facilities is accelerating.

Prefabricated technology has emerged as a key driver of cost reduction and efficiency. China Telecom is advancing prefabricated cold-source solutions that integrate chillers and control systems into containers or modular cabins—requiring only power and water connections onsite. Integrated liquid-cooled cabinets are preassembled and tested in factories, reducing onsite deployment time by 50%. Cold-plate liquid cooling containers, supporting 20kW–50kW per cabinet, are ideal for edge scenarios such as smart transportation and urban governance.

From policy support to market demand, from technical innovation to ecosystem growth, the liquid cooling industry has moved past the “0-to-1 breakthrough phase” and is now entering the “1-to-N scale-up phase.” In the future, with the maturity of two-phase cold-plate and hybrid liquid cooling technologies, and the decline in costs of domestic coolants and SiC devices, liquid cooling will become not just a “cooling tool” but the core engine for optimizing energy efficiency and boosting computing power in intelligent computing centers.

When liquid cooling deeply integrates with AI and edge computing, what we see will not merely be a cooling revolution, but a new picture of the intelligent computing industry overcoming bottlenecks and advancing toward high-quality development. This is the true value of liquid cooling.