The exponential increase in compute-intensive AI workloads is not only changing the performance and scalability requirements for data centres - it is also shifting the energy focus within infrastructure planning. With a predicted 463 exabytes of data processed per day by 2025, cooling will become the dominant operating cost factor and the key technical issue for any new investment.
At the same time, the requirements for sustainability, space flexibility and CO₂ balancing are growing - driven by regulatory initiatives, corporate sustainability reporting (CSRD) and ESG-driven capital. This puts data centres in a structural dual role: they are both a technological platform and an energy risk factor.
The answer to this lies in the targeted combination of specialised cooling systems - instead of expanding existing mono systems. This blog shows how you can plan, technically integrate and sustainably operate hybrid cooling architectures - focussing on implementation, choice of materials and scalable system infrastructure. Additional detailed technical background and application examples can be found in our white paper "Cool heads for AI": Why PP-RCT pipe systems for DTC and immersion cooling are setting standards today.
The thermal load of modern data centres does not increase proportionally to the computing power - but exponentially with the complexity and density of the hardware used. Traditional cooling architectures - such as purely air-based systems - no longer scale efficiently in this context. The solution lies in modular cooling systems that react differently depending on the heat input, installation space, zone topology and redundancy requirements.
In combination, not only can thermal peak loads be controlled - significant efficiency gains can also be realised:
The introduction of hybrid cooling systems requires a rethink in planning logic. Instead of scaling one dominant cooling method to the entire data centre, the infrastructure is divided into functional zones - each with its own specific thermal profile, cooling technology and hydraulic connection.
Direct-to-chip cooling is becoming the preferred solution in areas with high but uniform heat loads - such as GPU training nodes or high-performance clusters. Closed liquid circuits with a precisely defined flow rate and temperature spread dominate here. The choice of material for the pipe system is crucial: corrosion, micro-leaks and pressure losses have a direct impact on system stability. The aquatherm blue pipe system fulfils the requirements of such DTC set-ups:
Immersion cooling - usually in closed two-phase systems - requires separate recooling units with reliable secondary pipework. Here, too, maximum material stability with minimum susceptibility to maintenance is important. Compatibility with non-conductive fluids and the ability to maintain a material bond over decades make aquatherm blue the preferred solution here too.
Air management, on the other hand, remains the decisive component for fine thermal control at room level: for controlling leaks, residual heat and transition zones. In such zones, air cooling can be effectively combined with surface-coupled cooling - for example with modular ceiling systems that minimise localised hotspots. aquatherm black offers a tried and tested solution for this:
The result is a closed overall thermal system that can be controlled on a zone basis, expanded on a modular basis and precisely balanced in terms of energy - with minimised interfaces, clear material separation and low-maintenance operation in the long term.
The technical feasibility of hybrid cooling systems has long been proven. The next stage of development concerns the regulations, certifications and political targets that will have a significant influence on the construction and operation of modern data centres in the future.
International programmes such as the US Coolerchips initiative set clear targets: The share of cooling in IT power consumption should fall below five per cent by 2030 - with a simultaneous increase in computing load. In the EU, sustainability targets from the Green Deal are increasingly having an impact on building permits, energy audits and network access. ESG-compliant financing is also hardly possible without proven energy efficiency.
These systems require robust evidence of system efficiency, resource conservation, deconstructability and material integrity - especially for building services infrastructure.
The choice of pipework system not only influences the thermal performance, but also the certifiability of the overall project. Pipe systems such as aquatherm blue enable consistent documentation:
Those who no longer see cooling as a "technical ancillary unit", but rather as a central business management lever, will gain operational and financial advantages. The total costs over the life cycle (total cost of ownership, TCO) can be planned more precisely, regulatory requirements can be fulfilled efficiently and the ability to invest can be secured in the long term through access to "green" financing - for example within the framework of the EU Taxonomy Regulation. At the same time, new synergies are created, for example through the integration of heat recovery systems or the feeding of surplus heat into external networks for waste heat marketing. Cooling thus becomes not only a technical, but also a strategic investment decision.
Cooling is becoming a key competence for operators, planners and investors. It's not just about technologies - it's about the ability to combine them sensibly, integrate them systemically and secure them from a regulatory perspective. Those who rely on modular, scalable systems and certifiable components not only create technical resilience - but also economic freedom of action. aquatherm provides the technical infrastructure for this development with the aquatherm blue and aquatherm black product families - precisely tailored to the requirements of hybrid cooling systems in the AI age.
Planning the next steps: Are you thinking about a new cooling infrastructure? Together we can develop efficient, sustainable and subsidisable solutions.
