Companies including Flex, Wiwynn, and OVH are launching new cooling offerings and ideas at this week’s OCP event in California.
Flex partners with JetCool
Manufacturing firm Flex has partnered with JetCool to expand its liquid cooling offerings.
The company this week announced new reference platforms for liquid-cooled servers, racks, and power products
"Flex delivers integrated data center IT and power infrastructure solutions that address the growing power and compute demands in the AI era," said Michael Hartung, president and chief commercial officer, Flex. "We are expanding our unique portfolio of advanced manufacturing capabilities, innovative products, and lifecycle services, enabling customers to deploy IT and power infrastructure at scale and drive AI data center expansion."
The company has announced customizable, open standard-based, compute reference designs integrating JetCool's SmartPlate direct-to-chip liquid cooling solution. The modular compute platform includes a new Host Processor Module (HPM) that supports up to two Intel Xeon 6900 series with P-cores and also integrates the Flex Secure Control Module (SCM) 2.0.
“Advanced cooling systems are essential for supporting AI-enabled applications, high-performance computing, and increased rack power densities,” said Rob Campbell, president of Communications, Enterprise and Cloud at Flex. “JetCool extends the value of single-phase, direct-to-chip liquid cooling deployments to meet the escalating power demands of AI servers. Flex’s expertise across IT and power infrastructure, global manufacturing, and vertical integration makes these solutions easier to deploy at scale.”
“As AI and other high-density workloads push the limits of conventional cooling methods, the need for advanced solutions becomes critical,” said Dr. Bernie Malouin, CEO of JetCool, who notes that the company is able to combine its liquid cooling solutions with Flex's manufacturing capabilities.
"Together, we are poised to deliver servers for AI at scale that not only meet but exceed the performance and efficiency requirements of hyperscalers and enterprise customers," he added.
The Flex Open Rack V3 solution is compatible with ORv3 specification and customizable to support 21″ and 19″ footprints for IT equipment. Flex Power Modules also launched new Intermediate Bus Converters (IBC).
JetCool is also launching a 6U in-rack Coolant Distribution Unit (CDU) that is capable of cooling 300kW and scalable to 2.1MW at a row level.
Flex has recently partnered with supercapacitor specialist Musashi Energy Solutions to develop an energy storage solution aimed at AI data centers.
Wiwynn launches more AI and liquid cooling offerings
Taiwanese IT infrastructure provider Wiwynn this week announced several new AI racks and liquid cooling technologies.
The company has partnered with Wistron Corporation to offer an Nvidia GB200 NVL72 Rack Solution. The liquid-cooled rack connects 72 Blackwell GPUs and 36 Grace CPUs with Nvidia’s NVLink.
In addition, the company has introduced the GS1400A, a 4U server with eight H200 Tensor Core GPUs; and GS1300N, which can be equipped with eight Hopper or Blackwell architecture GPUs within 3U-height and using Wiwynn's DLC technology.
Wiwynn is also partnering with ZutaCore to offer a two-phase liquid cooling solution that can offer up to 2.5 kW thermal design power (TDP) and will be demonstrating a two-phase immersion cooling solution that achieves 2.8kW TDP. Wiwynn has previously invested in Zutacore.
"The high power demands of AI are pushing the limits of data centers, and as the technology grows more complex, it's essential to enhance both performance and sustainability," noted William Lin, president of Wiwynn.
"This year, we're demonstrating how our technology creates unprecedented performance and efficiency to empower data centers worldwide and unlock new possibilities in the AI era."
Partnering with Intel, Wiwynn is also replacing water with a novel dielectric fluid, offering more than 1.5kW TPD cooling capacity with a single-phase solution. Further details weren’t shared.
OVH suggests aluminum heat exchangers
This week also saw French cloud and data center firm OVH pitch aluminum-based heat exchangers.
The company this week released a new proposal aimed at successfully implementing aluminum heat exchangers in the data center, alongside Valeo, a technology provider for mobility.
Many data centers today rely on copper-based heat exchangers, but OVH said aluminum is emerging as a “compelling” alternative.
The initiative will seek to establish guidelines for internal linings, coating, and coolants to address corrosion concerns.
“Rigorous testing in real-world conditions will validate the durability of the coatings, the effectiveness of the coolants, and the overall thermal management capabilities of aluminum systems,” OVH said. “This will result in a comprehensive white paper on the integration process, with presentations at industry summits and updates to relevant guidelines if necessary”
OVH said aluminum’s lightweight properties will help the material find its way into modular systems and advanced heat exchanger designs, such as microchannel heat exchangers.
The company also noted recycling aluminum requires only about 5 percent of the energy needed for new production, compared to 15-20 percent for copper.
Stulz launches new air conditioning unit
Stulz this week also announced a new air conditioning unit.
The company has added the CyberAir Mini CW precision server room air conditioning unit to its range. The offering is available in four sizes with capacities from 9 to 35 kW.
"The new standard version of the pioneering CyberAir Mini CW demonstrates our ongoing commitment to providing customers with air conditioning solutions that combine modern design and advanced technology with ease of use, energy efficiency, scalability, and reliability," said Emily Kay, product manager at Stulz.
