From chip to chiller: Ecolab’s future for data centres lies in integrated cooling

Rob Lowe, director of research, development and engineering for Ecolab’s global high tech division, shared with Capacity what integrated CDUs and cooling solutions can do in practice. Having worked at Nalco Water for nearly twenty years, a company that rethinks the way water is managed, which was acquired by Ecolab in 2011, Lowe advocated for cooling optimised for longevity and material compatibility.

“When I started in the data centre space six years ago, we would often have conversations with customers after they’d already completed a design or even chosen the equipment and water quality was always an afterthought,” he explained.

He added: “I would say something similar is happening in the AI space right now: we’re moving so fast that the attitude is ‘we’ll figure this out as we go.’ Ecolab’s approach to supporting its customers is exactly that.”

Overcoming siloes: What an integrated platform looks like

The data centre industry is currently confronting siloed systems – what Lowe described as a mixture of different suppliers, OEMs and services that are currently uncoordinated across the entire cooling platform.

“Everybody is focused on their own speciality,” he said. “While that’s great for individual cooling components, it doesn’t help the cooling ecosystem as a whole.”

With this in mind, Lowe said Ecolab is focusing on bringing a community together that can serve efficiency across the entire cooling chain. He explained that bringing the system together, especially through a cooling-as-a-service approach, is critical to moving things forward.

“Everybody’s moving so fast, they’re just trying to get compute up and running. But [cooling is] going to become more important to sustain these systems. As they get hotter, they’re going to evolve,” he added.

For Lowe, a fully integrated cooling platform is something that goes from the chip to the chiller – starting where the heat is generated and understanding what’s going on at the cold plate and the coolant interaction. He said this will translate back into the system via the coolant.

“We have coolant health monitoring and our CDU, making sure that everything is integrated in the technical cooling loop to understand all the things that are changing – process operation, efficiency gains and so on,” he said. “The data comes together in one place, which we add to the utility side of the system, which is where Ecolab has always been very strong.”

He explained how this gives the operator a full picture across the entire ecosystem where heat is being generated, which then leads to discussions over how the heat can be removed.

“What’s going to be different is thinking about the system collectively, including the coolant,” he added. “Pulling all of this together into one system is what’s going to drive system-wide efficiency.”

To do this, the industry first needs to confront challenges, including expertise and ensuring that collective thinking about systems.

“You need to build a company with deep expertise in all of these areas,” Lowe explained. “Ecolab is the forefront of this in the coolant monitoring space, with 100 years of history in understanding water chemistry, water treatment and how industrial processes impact those systems.”

Ecolab also offers cooling-as-a-service solutions, which involve combining coolant expertise and the mechanical touch points as one offering.

“Pulling all of this together into one best-practice approach (cooling-as-a-service) is what’s really important,” Lowe added. “It means 24/7 real-time visibility but also having maintenance support around system uptake; filter changes, sensor calibration and taking samples.”

Tackling uncertainties in the data centre industry

It’s no secret that the data centre is currently in a state of flux, with operators having to navigate capacity constraints and rising power demands on account of AI. A significant part of this is legacy infrastructure in facilities not being suitable for fast-paced technologies.

One consideration here is the retrofit capabilities of liquid-to-air versus liquid-to-liquid cooling.

“Not everything has to be retrofitted for AI, but I think a lot of it will be,” Lowe said. “One of the most important things is commissioning – making sure that, when you put these things in place, they are set up correctly for success.”

Ecolab’s ethos is that cooling starts at the design phase, rather than just being a maintenance piece.

“We’re thinking about our customers’ needs from the very beginning,” Lowe explained.

With AI making things more complicated, Lowe added that it’s vital for the data centre industry to de-silo and bring a unified approach to cooling systems. He said this helps standardise best practices and procedures across the industry.

“There’s nothing standard, everyone’s doing their own thing,” he added. “It’s about bringing the right expertise into the conversation to give people the guidance needed to keep mission-critical systems running.”

Ecolab: Accountability, partnerships and what comes next

To help facilitate integration, Ecolab prioritises partnerships with its customers – working around them and what they need. The company also works with original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) like OCP and ASHRAE to influence how cooling and monitoring should be integrated into systems.

“We influence through our customers, working with industry trade bodies to help them with the problems they face,” Lowe added.

He explained how, for hyperscalers managing complex cooling stacks, a service-led approach leads to more predictable outcomes.

“We talk about this in the context of touch points – how many times will you interact with the system daily?” he said. “Each of these touch points could have something go wrong, due to a lack of standardised processes.

As data centres continue to be questioned over the use of heat, power, energy and water, Lowe explained how Ecolab will continue to manage sustainable outcomes. He explained how, with power being a limiting factor moving forward, the company will help customers minimise the amount of electricity being used for cooling so it can be directed to compute.

“We’re trying to help [customers] be as efficient as possible, optimising the cooling side while also enabling more compute at the same time,” he added. “That’s always been our mission, no matter what industry we’re talking about, and it’s exactly the same in the data centre space.”

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