AI workloads are pushing heat loads higher, and traditional data center coolings are feeling the strain. A recent UN report warned that water used by AI data centers could equal the everyday needs of 1.3 billion people by 2030. A medium-sized facility can consume roughly 110 million gallons annually, about what a town of 50,000 residents uses. The good news is that a new wave of data center coolings is cutting that thirst.
Why Conventional Data Center Coolings Use So Much Water
Most facilities use air conditioning to carry cool air to the server rooms, then a chilled water loop to carry waste heat outside. There, a cooling tower evaporates a portion of the water to shed that heat. Air is a poor heat carrier, so the energy needed for cooling is comparable to what the electronic equipment itself consumes.
Evaporative cooling is water-hungry but reduces electricity use, and generating electricity takes water too. For Ireland’s energy mix, that is roughly 0.1 to 2 liters per kilowatt-hour, according to a University of Limerick professor writing in The Conversation. On that view, evaporation can be the “least bad” option overall. APL Data Center similarly cautions that cutting water by burning more fossil-fuel electricity is not virtuous, so each site needs its own assessment.
Closed-Loop Liquid: The New Standard in Data Center Coolings
Direct-to-chip schemes pipe sealed liquid networks directly to the CPUs and GPUs. Because liquid carries heat far better than air, the water leaving the equipment can reach 60°C or higher. That lowers cooling costs, makes waste heat reusable and allows smaller infrastructure. Retrofitting air-driven facilities has costs, and some air cooling must remain for certain equipment, but servers are typically replaced every two to seven years, creating natural transition points.
Microsoft’s design, introduced in August 2024, delivers chip-level cooling with zero water evaporation, avoiding more than 125 million liters annually per facility. Nvidia says its newest AI servers will be fully liquid cooled, using a water and propylene glycol coolant that runs at up to 45°C, well above the 30°C industry standard. University of Chicago professor Andrew Chien notes that zero water use is unrealistic and these systems are expensive, but they will significantly reduce water needs. Crusoe’s closed-loop Abilene, Texas, campus expects annual water use of just 12,625 gallons per building.
Immersion and Chip-Level Innovations
Immersion cooling submerges servers in non-conductive liquid. The World Economic Forum cites water reductions of up to 91% versus conventional air cooling, while direct-to-chip approaches can cut water use by 20% to 90% depending on technology and climate. Ferveret’s Adaptive Phase Cooling, adapted from nuclear reactor research, uses no water and improved computational power efficiency by 15% over state-of-the-art liquid cooling. Corintis embeds microscopic liquid channels inside the chip itself, achieving three-times-higher heat-removal efficiency in Microsoft trials.
Smarter Controls and Water Reuse in Data Center Coolings
Better data center coolings are not only about hardware. Microsoft improved its water use effectiveness from 2.3 to 0.27 L/kWh by 2025, and its direct air cooling uses water only when outside temperatures exceed 85°F. Its sites in Quincy, Washington, Singapore and San Antonio use 74%, 99% and 79% recycled, reused or non-potable water, respectively.
OVHcloud’s Smart Datacenters pair AI with closed-loop design to cut cooling electricity by up to 50% and water use by up to 30%. Real-time sensors and smart water management can reduce consumption by up to 25%, and wastewater reuse can lower it by up to 50%.
The Future of Data Center Coolings
No single technology suits every site. Climate, location and available surface water all shape the right mix, and the World Economic Forum stresses that collaboration among operators, technology providers, startups and local communities is critical to move beyond isolated pilots. As AI demand grows, data center coolings that combine closed-loop liquid designs, smarter controls and water reuse offer the clearest path to supporting growth without straining local water supplies.
To find out more about the latest industry updates and innovations in data center construction, meet with solution providers and hear talks from expert speakers, attend the 6th Constructing Green Data Centers: Revolutionizing Planning, Design, and Engineering, taking place October 21-22, 2026, in Ashburn, Virginia, USA.
For more information, click here or email us at info@innovatrix.eu for the event agenda. Visit our LinkedIn to stay up to date on our latest speaker announcements and event news.
