For decades, moving cold air around server racks has been the standard way of keeping data centres within their desired operating temperatures. However, the rapid rise of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and high-performance computing is beginning to pose a different cooling challenge. As more powerful processors are packed into high-density racks, the amount of heat concentrated within a relatively small space is increasing considerably.
This development is particularly relevant for India, where the data centre industry is expanding rapidly. According to the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, the country’s installed data centre capacity has increased from around 375 MW in 2020 to approximately 1,575 MW at present. The growing requirement for AI and high-performance computing infrastructure is expected to further increase the demand for data centre capacity.
Naturally, cooling will have an important role to play in supporting this expansion. Traditional air-based systems will continue to serve a large part of the market, but higher computing densities are encouraging operators to explore technologies capable of removing heat closer to its source.
Direct-to-chip liquid cooling is one such approach, where liquid is circulated close to heat-generating components such as processors. Immersion cooling takes the concept further by placing computing equipment in specially designed dielectric fluids. Closed-loop liquid cooling systems are also emerging as an option for managing high-density computing while reducing dependence on water-intensive cooling arrangements. The Government has already acknowledged the growing adoption of these technologies in Indian data centres.
Of course, this does not mean that air cooling will disappear. Rather, the changing thermal requirements of modern computing may lead to a combination of air and liquid-based solutions depending on rack density, location and operational requirements.
As AI infrastructure continues to expand, cooling can no longer remain merely a supporting utility. How efficiently we remove the enormous amount of heat generated inside tomorrow’s data centres may ultimately determine how efficiently our digital infrastructure performs.
Pravita Iyer
Publisher & Director
