China's data centers are pushing cooling to the limit

China’s rapid expansion in AI computing power has led to a significant increase in data center energy consumption and heat generation, pushing traditional air cooling methods to their limits. High-power AI chips, such as Huawei’s Ascend 910B and 910C, consume substantial energy, resulting in power densities per rack exceeding 15 kW and sometimes approaching 30 kW. This intense heat output has made air cooling inefficient due to increased noise, energy use, and maintenance challenges. Consequently, China is increasingly adopting liquid cooling technologies, especially cold plate liquid cooling, which offers efficient heat dissipation and easier retrofitting compared to immersion cooling. The liquid-cooled server market in China reached $2.37 billion in 2024, growing 67% year-over-year, with projections to hit $16.2 billion by 2029. This growth is driven by national strategies like “East Data West Computing” and policies promoting green data centers with power usage effectiveness (PUE) targets below 1