Panasonic has launched a brand new liquid cooling programs enterprise for generative AI information centres in Europe, with orders now open for a spread of coolant distribution items (CDUs) and free-cooling chillers.
The transfer builds on Panasonic’s acquisition of Italy-based Tecnair in 2023. Tecnair manufactures shut management air-conditioning items utilized in information centre air-cooling, and the deal gave Panasonic a stronger place within the European cooling market. With the addition of CDUs and information centre chillers, Panasonic is now broadening its supply past conventional air-cooling as operators face rising warmth masses from AI infrastructure.
The 2 CDU fashions are rated at 400kW and 800kW, alongside two free-cooling chillers with capacities of 800kW and 1,200kW. Panasonic can be growing higher-capacity CDUs of 1,200kW and above.
The launch comes at a time when information centre building is accelerating and operators are underneath rising stress to handle the warmth generated by high-performance computing. Whereas air-cooling has lengthy been the usual method, generative AI workloads are altering the equation. The high-performance GPU chips used for superior computational processing generate far higher thermal masses, pushing extra operators in direction of liquid cooling programs that may take away warmth extra effectively.
Panasonic has lengthy been established within the information centre market, though it targeted on air cooling, slightly than liquid cooling. Now, with the hyperscalers and colocation suppliers now requiring liquid cooling to fulfill AI workloads, Panasonic is responding with a complete new vary to fulfill these necessities – whereas nonetheless leaning on its strengths within the air cooling market.
That’s as a result of, in keeping with Panasonic, its new CDUs are designed to carry out warmth change and distribute coolant utilizing chilled water provided by chillers. In impact, that provides operators the choice to mix liquid cooling with extra established air-cooling programs, slightly than relying totally on one or the opposite.
That issues as a result of few operators are approaching the AI transition from a clean sheet of paper. Many are on the lookout for methods to assist denser deployments inside present amenities, and hybrid cooling methods have gotten an more and more sensible route. Panasonic argues that combining conventional air-cooling with liquid cooling will help cut back energy consumption whereas additionally slicing the general system footprint wanted to attain the identical cooling capability.
Alongside the CDUs, Panasonic has additionally developed its first chillers particularly geared toward information centres. These have been positioned in direction of small to medium-scale amenities, together with edge information centres, and incorporate a free-cooling perform that makes use of decrease out of doors temperatures to generate chilled water.
The corporate notes that its free-cooling functionality is designed to function at out of doors temperatures of as much as 10°C, which may make it notably related in elements of Europe the place ambient circumstances permit operators to scale back reliance on mechanical cooling for important elements of the 12 months. In these circumstances, the vitality financial savings might be significant, particularly as energy use stays one of many largest industrial and operational pressures dealing with the sector.
The chillers additionally use the low-GWP refrigerant R1234ze(E), which has a world warming potential of 1. Whereas the principle driver for adoption is more likely to be cooling efficiency and effectivity, the usage of lower-impact refrigerants is changing into an more and more essential consideration as operators and suppliers come underneath extra stress to exhibit progress on sustainability.
