Motivair by Schneider Electric’s new Coolant Distribution Unit (CDU), announced today, is designed to cool high-density data centres reliably and at scale.
Known as MCDU-70, the new CDU can deliver cooling for up to 2.5MW of power without compromise, preserving full flow performance and facility pressure at gigawatt-scale.
MCDU-70 is the highest-capacity CDU available from Motivair currently and presents a breakthrough flexible and scalable solution for meeting the intense demands of next-generation GPUs and gigawatt-scale AI Factories.
“AI isn’t slowing down. Our solutions are designed to keep pace with chip and silicon evolution – delivering next-gen performance when it matters most,” said Rich Whitmore, CEO of Motivair by Schneider Electric. “Data centre success now hinges on delivering scalable, reliable, efficient infrastructure solutions that match the next generation of AI Factory deployments.”
He added: “We’re meeting that moment with proven liquid cooling solutions that scale with our customers’ needs.”
Keeping pace with the chip evolution
Harnessing Schneider Electric’s EcoStruxure software, Motivair’s CDUs operate as a centralised system to meet cooling requirements but also offering the ability to scale for next-generation HPC, AI and accelerating computing workloads.
As the newest addition to Motivair’s CDU line, the company said the MCDU-70 is compact and efficient, aligning with the needs of large-scale facilities like Nvidia Omniverse DSX Blueprint where deployments target 10MW to reach gigawatt scale. At 2.5MW each, six MCDU-70s can provide a 4+2 redundancy for these designs, with the unit’s capacity able to service Nvidia’s GPU roadmap for the foreseeable future.
Speaking exclusively with Capacity earlier today, Whitmore explained: “We collaborate closely with the industry. When you look at the MCDU-70, it’s really aligned with where we see silicon roadmaps going.”
He added: “A 2.5MW performance point, it aligns very well with the latest AI Factory designs that are being laid out worldwide.”
The news comes as demand for AI technologies continues to surge and data centre hyperscalers seek infrastructure that is high-performing, scalable and efficient. GPUs that power AI Factories generate 20 to 50 times more heat than traditional CPUs (Central Processing Units), which make liquid cooling a necessity in the AI era. Organisations deploying AI clusters are confronting extreme rack power densities, which are expected to reach beyond one-megawatt.
“We get early insights into roadmaps and where things are going,” Whitmore told Capacity. “The reality is, if you don’t have the best cooling, the chips don’t perform where they actually need to be.”
Motivair by Schneider Electric is hoping to enable customers to meet these demands and scale with CDU models or custom-built CDUs tailored to match the capacity required. Whitmore explained how innovation isn’t just about the latest chip technology, but that the best cooling and power technology is required too.
“Sometimes that is overlooked, but it’s starting to get more notoriety,” he added. “Our team goes to work in the background to help enable these chips and technology.
“The current conversation of power and cooling is absolutely critical to enable AI infrastructure worldwide.”
Schneider Electric tech to boost reliability
Harnessing Schneider Electric’s liquid cooling portfolio and EcoStruxure software, Motivair now offers CDUs ranging from 105kW to 2.5MW to meet current and future performance requirements. The company said each CDU can be scaled and seamlessly integrate with other units and Schneider Electric software to deliver precise and reliable cooling capacity for data centre operators.
MCDU-70 is available globally via Schneider Electric’s advanced manufacturing hubs in North America, Europe and Asia and fully equipped to meet data centre cooling needs for current and future GPUs.
“With the MCDU-70, we’re looking at the entire chain of energy transfer,” Whitmore explained. “There is really no other company in the world that is engaging with customers on that journey – and cooling is a very important part of that.”
He added: “When we look at this, combined with all Schneider features – Ecostruxure or otherwise – they’re all connected. With the 2.5MW building block, it’s perfectly aligned with the optimal state for the industry. Everything that lines up is optimally designed to work on that energy transfer chain.”
Motivair has been working on CDUs for some time, having debuted two new CDUs, MCDU-45 and MCDU-55, in December 2025 purpose-built for optimised installation in utility corridors. Whitmore credits collaboration with Schneider Electric in part for its continued success.
“The whole world has been surprised by the acceleration of scale, but [Motivair] was built for scale. Fortunately for us, we were well positioned to accommodate that,” he explained. “Combined with the size and scale of Schneider, they’ve been able to provide us with additional resources in all the right places to enable us to continue to grow at the size and speed that the market demands.”
Nearly one-year post-Schneider Electric acquisition and Whitmore refers to the continued collaboration as a huge strategic move.
“Schneider Electric was ahead of this game. From our perspective inside this ecosystem, as a deep collaborator around the silicon roadmaps, we knew where [the market] was heading,” Whitmore said. “We’re starting to see a lot of success in different parts of the world with collaborative engagements between Motivair teams and Schneider teams – we lead liquid cooling initiatives, but Schneider Electric brings new discussions to the table – about cybersecurity and if [our] products can protect against cyberattacks.”
He added: “The company is also well-known for its robust supply chain. Ultimately, it’s about speed-to-market and resiliency.
“Schneider Electric is just further accelerating our path and making sure that we’ve got everything that we need to be successful.”
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