Immersion cooling: data centre technology guide and suppliers

Immersion cooling

Immersion cooling submerges servers in a dielectric fluid, either in open tanks (single-phase or two-phase) or in sealed chassis (precision immersion). It removes heat from all components, allows warm water heat rejection and can eliminate server fans, but needs adapted hardware, fluid management and service procedures.

Also called: single-phase immersion, two-phase immersion, tank immersion, precision immersion, chassis immersion

What it is

In single-phase tanks the fluid stays liquid and a CDU or heat exchanger moves heat to facility water. Two-phase systems boil a fluid at the components and condense it above the bath. Precision or chassis immersion (Iceotope) seals fluid inside each server chassis.

Published examples

Submer SmartPod EXO lists up to 361 kW heat dissipation depending on model and conditions and operation with water up to 60 °C. GRC's ICEraQ Series 10 launch (2021) quoted 200 kW with warm water and 368 kW with chilled water.

Sourcing considerations

Ask about fluid type, supply chain, toxicity and end-of-life handling, server and warranty compatibility, floor loading, service lifting, fluid loss rates and fire classification. Confirm whether the tank CDU is redundant (Submer TwinTank uses 2N CDUs).

Prototype vs shipping

Single-phase tank immersion is commercially shipping from several suppliers. Some vendors' current product lines were not verified in this run and stay as drafts. Two-phase immersion has faced fluid regulatory pressure and should be checked case by case.

Questions to ask suppliers

Fluid chemistry, supplier and replacement cost
Server OEM warranty position
Tank weight and floor loading
Redundancy of pumps or CDUs
Water temperature range and heat reuse potential
Maintenance procedure and lifting equipment

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