Lubricant specialist Castrol has launched a fluid management service for data center liquid cooling.

It says the new service will help bridge the knowledge gap that exists in the industry as data centers transition from air cooling systems to liquid-based set-ups, which are increasingly being required to chill high-density racks.

Castrol, which is owned by BP, says the service model covers all four phases of the data center operation lifecycle; system start-up, ongoing maintenance, break-fix support, and fluid disposal. This approach “is designed to help remove operational barriers in the adoption of liquid cooling in data centres,” the company said.

"Data center operators recognise the benefits of liquid cooling but need assurance around long-term fluid management," said Peter Huang, global vice president of data center thermal management at Castrol.

"Castrol has delivered fluid services for the automotive industry for decades – we're now bringing this proven expertise to data centers with a service model that supports optimal performance throughout the entire lifecycle.”

Castrol says it will work with its partner network to deliver the service via third-party providers.

"Our aim with this new service model is to remove the operational and technical uncertainties that have slowed liquid cooling adoption," said Andrea Zunino, global offer development manager at Castrol.

"Within liquid cooling systems, the fluid represents a single point of failure – degraded conditions can reduce cooling capacity and lead to equipment failure. We're going beyond just fluid supply to deliver structured support at every stage, giving data center operators the confidence they need to embrace liquid cooling.”

Castrol already makes a range of liquid cooling fluids, which it has been marketing to customers for several years. Last year, it installed a modular data center at its R&D center in Oxfordshire, UK, to test and demonstrate the efficacy of its products.