Industry Trends and Market Analysis Report on Liquid Cooling Technology: Technology Innovation and Market Opportunities Driven by Chip Power Consumption Introduction With the rapid development of artificial intelligence (AI), high-performance computing (HPC), and big data centers, chip power consumption and computing power density are growing exponentially. NVIDIA and AMD, as leaders in the GPU field, have broken through the kilowatt level power consumption of their new generation chips and continue to climb. This trend poses a serious challenge to traditional air cooling technology. Liquid cooling technology, with its efficient heat dissipation capability, has become an indispensable supporting solution for high-power chips, and market demand and technological innovation are advancing at an unprecedented speed.
1、 Chip power consumption surge: NVIDIA, the core driving force of liquid cooling technology:
dual wheel drive of power consumption and cabinet capacity.
Current progress: B200 chip power consumption reaches 1200 watts, paired with GB200 NVL72 cabinet capacity of 120 kilowatts; The latest mass-produced B300 chip has increased its power consumption to 1400 watts and the cabinet capacity has also increased to 140 kilowatts.
Future outlook: The next generation of Rubin chips is expected to consume 1800 watts of power, and the Rubin Ultra launched in 2027 may even reach up to 3600 watts. At that time, the total power of the cabinet will be 14 times that of the B300. This places extremely high demands on the design, materials, flow control, and heat exchange efficiency of liquid cooling systems.
AMD: GPU power consumption is rapidly increasing, CPU is relatively mild GPU: from 700-750 watts in the MI300 series, to 1000 watts in the MI325 series, and then to 1400 watts in the MI355 series, the future MI375 series is expected to reach 1600 watts, with a rapid growth momentum.
CPU: The power consumption growth is relatively mild, maintained between 400-600 watts. Intel CPU: The power consumption level is similar to AMD CPU, maintained at 500-600 watts.
2、 The upgrade and value enhancement of core components in liquid cooling systems have directly driven the technological iteration and value growth of chip power consumption. Taking Nvidia's Gb200 and GB300 platforms as an example: Cold board:
GB200:Large cold board design, including 36 GPU cold boards and 9 CPU cold boards, a total of 45 pieces, with a unit price of $600-700. GB300: Switching to a small cold plate design, each GPU and CPU is equipped with a separate cold plate, increasing the total number to 117 (72 GPU cold plates, 36 CPU cold plates, 9 switch cold plates), with a unit price reduced to $200-300, but the total value has increased due to a significant increase in quantity.
Quick connector:
GB200: Use UQD04 quick connector according to OCP standard.
GB300: Upgraded to Nvidia's self-developed NVQD03, the quantity has almost doubled, the unit price has also increased, and the total value is about twice that of GB200. Pipeline:
GB200: using PT/EPDM hoses, with a value ranging from $1000 to $1500.
GB300: More durable corrugated or stainless steel pipes may be used, with a value increase of $2000-3000. Overall, the total value of GB300's liquid cooling system has increased from 780000 US dollars to 900000 to 1 million US dollars, an increase of about 20%.
3、 Cooling Distribution Unit (CDU): Differences in Standardization and Regionalization Requirements. As the "heart" of liquid cooling systems, CDU is developing towards standardization and serialization.
Main types: Currently, CDU is divided into three types: embedded, cabinet type, and splitter type. Regional demand differences: Domestic market: Due to lower electricity costs, it tends to favor high-power CDUs (1500-2000 watts). North America, Europe, and Southeast Asia: prefer splitter style CDUs, with mainstream specifications of 70 kW and 150 kW, and a single unit value of approximately $30000 and $35000 to $40000, respectively.
Performance and Adaptation: The maximum capacity of the cabinet style CDU can reach 2000 kW, which can flexibly adapt to high-power cabinets. For example, a 150 kW CDU can be matched with a 120-130 kW NBL72 cabinet.
Domestic GPU characteristics: Due to the limitations of single card performance, the domestic GPU market has formed a unique strategy of "density pile", indirectly driving up the demand for liquid cooling. It is expected that by 2024-2025, new data centers in China will extensively adopt domestically produced GPU cards, with liquid cooling systems almost becoming standard. In addition, the transformation of Nvidia's game card stacking computing power to the "density stacking" mode has further driven the demand for liquid cooling solutions.
4、 The competitive landscape of the liquid cooling market: the advantage game between Taiwanese and mainland manufacturers. Taiwanese manufacturers (such as CoolMaster, AVC, Delta):
Advantage: With a first mover advantage, they occupy a leading position in the field of server and data center liquid cooling; Customers have extremely high requirements for supply chain stability (liquid cooled components account for 20% -30% of the cabinet value, and failures may result in millions of dollars in losses), so they tend to maintain long-term cooperation with Taiwanese manufacturers. Mainland funded manufacturers (such as Envision):
Advantage: More competitive in terms of cost and customization. The cost of CDU and cabinet components is 20% -30% lower than that of Taiwanese investment; Faster response speed, higher cooperation, willing to accept highly customized needs; The design capability of core components such as cold plates and CDUs is not inferior to international manufacturers. Customization of cold plate and quick connector: The domestic market has a particularly prominent demand for customization of cold plate and quick connector. For example, the data center with ByteDance will choose different cold plate designs according to AMD or Nvidia platforms. The quick connector standard is influenced by the OCP UQD series and Nvidia NVQD standards. Intel is leading the compatibility testing of quick connectors and is expected to release a report soon to promote industry standardization.
5、 The challenges and future development directions of liquid cooling technology. Existing technological challenges include bidirectional cooling plate, which is currently in the sample stage and urgently needs to be solved due to issues such as pressure increase, cold plate deformation, and phase transition stability. Immersion liquid cooling: Fluorinated liquid is expensive (3-4 times higher than other cooling liquids), with an annual volatilization rate of 15% -20%, and there are environmental and toxicity issues that limit its large-scale application. Future development direction: Research on new mineral oils: The market is returning to the study of new mineral oils, optimizing formulations to improve flow rates and heat dissipation capabilities, in order to find a better balance between cost and performance. More efficient heat dissipation design: For chips with power consumption exceeding 3000 watts or even higher, it is necessary to develop more efficient cold plate structures, better working fluids, and smarter flow and temperature control strategies. System level integration and intelligence: The liquid cooling system will be more closely integrated with IT equipment and computer room monitoring systems to achieve intelligent management and energy efficiency optimization. Standardization promotion: Standardization of key components such as CDU and quick connectors will reduce costs, improve compatibility and maintainability. Conclusion: Driven by the continuous surge in chip power consumption, liquid cooling technology has become a core supporting technology in the fields of data centers and high-performance computing. The product iteration of leading companies such as NVIDIA and AMD not only defines the demand for liquid cooling, but also leads the technological evolution of core components of liquid cooling systems. From the cold plate, quick connector, pipeline to CDU, the value of each link has significantly increased. In terms of market, Taiwanese manufacturers have taken the lead with their technological accumulation and supply chain advantages, while mainland manufacturers have demonstrated strong competitiveness in cost control and customized services. In the future, liquid cooling technology will develop towards higher efficiency, lower cost, stronger reliability, and wider compatibility, while facing multiple challenges such as materials, design, and environmental protection. The gradual unification of industry standards and breakthroughs in new cooling media will be the key to promoting the large-scale popularization and continuous innovation of liquid cooling technology.
