According to a report by Commercial Times, as NVIDIA’s GB200 is set to officially ship by the end of this year and gradually ramping up in 2025, it is anticipated to usher in a new era of liquid cooling.

TrendForce predicts that the liquid cooling penetration will rise from 11% in 2024 to 24% in 2025. This growth is expected to be fueled by advancements in AI, which we may witness in 2025.

The expansion of liquid cooling will benefit several Taiwanese companies, including Delta Electronics, Asia Vital Components, Auras Technology, LOTES, and Fositek.

The growing global awareness of ESG principles, coupled with cloud service providers (CSPs) accelerating the deployment of AI servers and the upcoming official launch of NVIDIA’s Blackwell platform all contribute to the growth of liquid cooling technology, as the report in Commercial Times indicated.

According to the report, the market is optimistic that the significant growth in NVIDIA Blackwell’s penetration will drive a shift from air cooling to liquid cooling solutions.

Currently, the Hopper architecture remains dominant, commanding 90% of the market share this year. On the other hand, Blackwell is projected to capture only 4% of the market by the end of 2024. However, as Blackwell ramps up sales next year, it is expected to replace Hopper and establish itself as the new mainstream.

From the perspective of thermal design power (TDP), NVIDIA’s GB200 NVL72 racks, with a TDP of approximately 140 kW, will require liquid cooling solutions to manage heat dissipation, with Liquid-to-Air (L2A) technology anticipated to become the predominant method.

While immersion cooling is an option, it faces technical challenges that may prevent it from becoming mainstream in the next 3 to 5 years, as the report stated.

The report highlighted that the market price of a single NVL72 rack is 28 times that of a traditional server. As a result, an increasing number of companies are entering and competing in the liquid cooling market.

Currently, for those Taiwanese companies in the supply chain which may benefit from the market opportunities, Asia Vital Components and Cooler Master lead in providing cold plates, while Cooler Master and Auras supply manifolds, and Vertiv and Delta Electronics provide coolant distribution units.

On the other hand, quick disconnect (QD) components are critical for preventing leakage and have frequently been reported as out of stock. Taiwanese companies like LOTES and Fositek are reportedly in the validation phase, and by the first half of 2025, they are expected to join the list of QD suppliers, to compete with major companies such as CPC, Parker Hannifin, Denfoss, and Staubli.

Read more

• Blackwell Platform and ASIC Chip Upgrades to Boost Liquid Cooling Penetration to Over 20% in 2025, Says TrendForce

(Photo credit: NVIDIA)

According to The Register, Fujitsu and Supermicro are teaming up to develop a new platform featuring Fujitsu’s upcoming high-performance, Arm-based MONAKA processor and advanced liquid cooling systems.

On October 3, Fujitsu and Supermicro announced a long-term partnership to develop and market a platform using the FUJITSU-MONAKA processor, which is designed for high performance and energy efficiency and set to launch in 2027. The companies will also collaborate on liquid-cooled systems for high-performance computing (HPC), generative AI, and eco-friendly data centers.

The Register highlights two key aspects of the alliance: Arm chips generally run cooler than competitors, requiring less thermal management innovation, and Fujitsu had largely exited this server market two years ago.

The Register reported that in February 2022, Fujitsu announced it would stop manufacturing and selling mainframe systems by 2030 and phase out Unix servers by the end of 2029. However, a year later, Fujitsu unveiled MONAKA, the successor to its A64FX chip, as a more energy-efficient, high-performance solution for HPC, AI, and data analytics workloads.

According to the companies, FUJITSU-MONAKA is based on the Arm architecture and employs cutting-edge 2-nanometer technology, with a 2027 release planned.

The partnership will combine Supermicro’s “Building Block” modular design, which allows customers to choose components optimized for their specific workloads, including cooling options like air-conditioned, free air cooled, or liquid cooling.

Fujitsu’s subsidiary, Fsas Technologies, will provide global generative AI solutions that integrate Supermicro’s GPU servers and support services for data centers and enterprises. Fsas was spun off last December to handle Fujitsu’s PC, server, and storage business, excluding mainframe and Unix systems.

The Register also mentioned that while liquid cooling for Arm systems is not common, it’s not unprecedented. For example, Fujitsu’s Fugaku supercomputer uses liquid cooling for its A64FX processors. This focus on liquid-cooled systems targets the growing demand for machines handling higher AI and HPC workloads.

(Photo credit: Supermicro)

AI server solution provider Supermicro, at its earnings call last week, revealed that the liquid cooling industry has been facing shortages for critical components, which further hinders its shipments. According to the latest report by the Economic Daily News, sources from the supply chain indicate that the critical component Supermicro referred to is the “quick coupling.”

The report notes that Taiwanese companies, including Global Tek, Fositek and Lotes, are accelerating their pace on sample verification.

Thanks to the soaring demand, the market is seeing a frenzy for quick couplings, with buyers willing to pay premium prices to secure capacity, the report suggests. The report notes that the price of quick couplings has surged from the original USD 40 to USD 60 per unit, with eager buyers claiming to pay for more as long as the components are available.

Citing industry experts, the report explains that the liquid-cooling system in AI servers consists of six key components: cooling distribution units (CDUs), cold plates, cabinets, fan walls, coolant distribution manifolds (CDMs), and quick couplings.

Among these, quick couplings are responsible for connecting the coolant flow between the cold plate and the CDU with great speed. In addition, as they are also prone to leakage, their quality would be especially crucial for liquid-cooling systems to operate smoothly.

The reason for the shortage, the report notes, is primarily due to the fact that a single AI server cabinet requires hundreds of male and female threads for quick couplings. As major cloud service providers (CSPs) are purchasing AI servers in large quantities, the demand for quick couplings has surged drastically, even to hundreds of times of the cabinets themselves.

It is worth noting that currently, the market for liquid-cooling quick couplings in AI servers is dominated by seven companies, including two Chinese firms. However, as the sanctions implemented in the U.S.-China tech war restrict the momentum of the Chinese companies, the market demand could not be satisfy. Also, the patents related to the components have created high barriers for other suppliers to enter the market.

Taiwanese companies, including Global Tek, Fositek and Lotes, therefore, are actively investing in the business and accelerating their sample submission, eyeing for the opportunities to receive order transfers.

Global Tek, for example, is working with partners at its Wuxi plant in China and its Taoyuan plant in Taiwan, with samples being tested. The company anticipates revenue contribution as early as the fourth quarter of this year or early next year.

Fositek, supported by its parent company Asia Vital Components, is currently focused on developing quick couplings and has already submitted samples for customer certification. Lotes, on the other hand, expects to see progress by the end of the third quarter.

Read more

• [News] Supermicro’s Financial Results Reveal Profit Shortfall
• [News] Supermicro President Charles Liang Bullish on Direct Liquid Cooling, Targeting a 15% Market Share within Next Year 

(Photo credit: Supermicro)