Climate and heat rejection
Dry cooler selection uses the site design ambient, fluid circuit and installation layout. Hot-climate sites may need larger coils or adiabatic assistance.
Data centre liquid cooling equipment · Australia & New Zealand
Data Centre Liquid Cooling Equipment for Australia & NZ
Data centre liquid cooling removes heat from CPUs and GPUs with a circulating coolant instead of room air, which is what lets AI racks run at 80–120 kW+ where air cooling is typically limited to 8–25 kW. ToneCooling Australia supplies the equipment stack for Australian and New Zealand projects: direct-to-chip cold plates, rack manifolds and quick disconnects, loop assemblies, coolant distribution units (CDUs) and dry coolers for heat rejection. Cold plates are designed, engineered and manufactured at our own manufacturing facility in Huizhou; selection, documentation and quotations are handled from Carlton, VIC.
80–120 kW+rack power density with direct-to-chip cooling
35–2,000 kWCDU range: in-rack 35–250 kW, in-row 300–2,000 kW
W32 / W40ASHRAE TC 9.9 facility water classes
4–6 weekstypical cold plate sample lead time
Page reviewed by
ToneCooling Australia Customer Engineering Support Team
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Carlton, VIC
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Last reviewed: 5 October 2026
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About the team →
Definition
What is data centre liquid cooling?
Data centre liquid cooling is a closed coolant loop that carries heat away from the hottest components in a server rack and rejects it outside the white space. In a direct-to-chip system, cold plates sit on each CPU and GPU, a rack manifold feeds them through quick disconnects, and a CDU pumps the coolant and transfers the heat to the facility water loop, which a dry cooler or cooling tower rejects to atmosphere. Air still removes the remaining heat from memory, drives and power supplies.
| Cooling architecture | Typical rack density | Main limit | Choose it when |
|---|---|---|---|
| Air (hot aisle / cold aisle) | 8–15 kW | Airflow and room air-conditioning capacity | General-purpose servers and legacy halls |
| Air + rear-door heat exchanger | 15–25 kW | Coil capacity and facility water supply | Mid-density racks in an air-cooled hall |
| Direct-to-chip liquid (entry) | 25–60 kW | Cold plate pressure-drop budget and CDU pump curve | Mixed GPU / CPU clusters and HPC |
| Direct-to-chip liquid (high density) | 80–120 kW+ | CDU capacity and heat rejection to the facility loop | GB200 / GB300-class AI racks and training clusters |
| Immersion (single- or two-phase) | 100–200 kW+ | Dielectric fluid handling, server compatibility, capex | Specialty HPC where servers are qualified for immersion |
Equipment stack
What equipment does a data centre liquid cooling system need?
A direct-to-chip data centre liquid cooling system needs six groups of equipment: cold plates on the processors, rack manifolds with quick disconnects, hoses and loop assemblies, a coolant distribution unit, heat-rejection plant such as a dry cooler, and pressure, leak and flow validation before commissioning. ToneCooling Australia can supply and coordinate each group, so one engineering team owns the pressure-drop and flow budget from chip to roof.
1 · Direct-to-chip cold plates
GPU and CPU cold plates, including GB300, GB200, H200 and H100-class standard parts and custom designs for other platforms.
2 · Rack manifolds & quick disconnects
Custom rack and chassis manifolds sized for branch flow, port geometry and wetted materials, with dry-break quick disconnects.
3 · Hoses & loop assemblies
Pre-assembled server loops that connect cold plates to the manifold, pressure tested before shipment.
4 · Coolant distribution units
In-rack CDUs from 35 to 250 kW and in-row CDUs from 300 to 2,000 kW, with model PDFs for each family.
5 · Dry coolers
Outdoor heat rejection selected for the site climate, fluid circuit and available space.
6 · Validation before commissioning
Pressure, helium leak and flow checks, plus thermal cycling validation for cold plates, with lot traceability per shipment.
Selection
Direct-to-chip or immersion: which liquid cooling suits your data centre?
Choose direct-to-chip liquid cooling when you are deploying standard AI or HPC servers in racks and want to keep a conventional hall layout. Choose immersion only when the servers are qualified for immersion and the site can handle dielectric fluid tanks, floor loading and specialised maintenance.
| Question | Direct-to-chip (cold plate) | Immersion |
|---|---|---|
| Server hardware | Standard rack servers with cold plates fitted | Servers qualified for submersion in dielectric fluid |
| Hall layout | Standard racks and aisles; CDU in rack or in row | Horizontal tanks; higher floor loading |
| Heat captured by liquid | Processors and accelerators; air removes the rest | Close to all server heat |
| Coolant | Treated water or propylene glycol mix (for example PG25) | Single- or two-phase dielectric fluid |
| Servicing | Quick disconnects let a tray be removed without draining the loop | Servers are lifted out of the fluid |
| Retrofit into an existing hall | Usually practical with in-rack or in-row CDUs | Usually needs a dedicated area |
More detail: liquid vs air cooling for Australian data centres.
Coolant
What liquid is used for cooling a data centre?
Direct-to-chip systems normally run treated water or a propylene glycol and water mix, such as PG25, in the secondary loop between the CDU and the cold plates; the facility loop on the other side of the CDU heat exchanger is usually water or glycol. Immersion systems use dielectric fluids instead. Wetted materials, inhibitors and filtration have to be matched to the coolant, which is why we confirm the full wetted bill of materials at quotation.
Local conditions
What should Australian and New Zealand data centre projects check?
Size heat rejection for the site's design ambient, not the national average, because a dry cooler in Western Sydney or Perth works against much hotter air than one in Melbourne or Auckland. Higher facility water temperatures (ASHRAE W32 / W40) widen the hours a dry cooler can run without chillers and reduce water use.
Water use
Closed-loop liquid cooling with dry coolers can cut evaporative water use. See data centre water use in Australia.
Electrical supply and compliance
CDUs and dry coolers are configured for 230 V or 400 V, 50 Hz supplies. The electrical safety compliance pathway is confirmed per project at quotation.
Documentation
Datasheets, test records and documentation for AS/NZS-scope reviews are handed over per shipment. See AS/NZS compliance support.
Pressure-drop budget
Cold plate, manifold, hoses and CDU heat exchanger share one rack-level pressure-drop envelope, typically 25–45 kPa. See the loop pressure-drop RFQ guide.
New Zealand projects
New Zealand enquiries are handled by ToneCooling Australia Pty Ltd. See liquid cooling for New Zealand.
Risks
What are the downsides of data centre liquid cooling?
The main downsides are higher upfront equipment cost, the risk of coolant leaks inside the rack, ongoing coolant chemistry and filter maintenance, and the need for staff trained in fluid systems. Each is manageable: dry-break quick disconnects, pressure and helium leak testing before shipment, leak detection at the CDU and manifold, and a coolant maintenance plan agreed at handover.
By location
Data centre liquid cooling by city
Sources and standards referenced: ASHRAE TC 9.9 (data centre thermal guidelines); Open Compute Project cooling environments; Standards Australia (AS/NZS standards). Specifications on this page come from ToneCooling datasheets and model pages; project values are confirmed at quotation.
Data centre liquid cooling FAQ
Does a data centre need liquid cooling?
Not every data centre does. Air cooling is still practical for racks up to roughly 15–25 kW. Racks of current AI accelerators run at 80–120 kW+, which needs direct-to-chip liquid cooling because air cannot carry that much heat out of the rack.
What liquid is used for cooling a data centre?
Direct-to-chip systems use treated water or a propylene glycol mix such as PG25 in the secondary loop, and water or glycol in the facility loop. Immersion systems use dielectric fluids.
What are the downsides of liquid cooling?
Higher upfront cost, leak risk inside the rack, coolant maintenance and the need for trained staff. Dry-break quick disconnects, pressure and helium leak testing, leak detection and a coolant maintenance plan manage these risks.
Who supplies data centre liquid cooling equipment in Australia?
ToneCooling Australia Pty Ltd supplies cold plates, rack manifolds, quick disconnects, loop assemblies, CDUs and dry coolers for Australian and New Zealand projects, with engineering coordination from Carlton, VIC.
What rack power density does data centre liquid cooling support?
Direct-to-chip liquid cooling supports 80–120 kW+ per rack, compared with 8–25 kW for air cooling. The rack-level pressure-drop envelope across cold plates, manifold, hoses and CDU heat exchanger is typically 25–45 kPa.
Can your cold plates work with the CDU already specified for our site?
Yes. Port size, flow rate, pressure-drop budget and coolant chemistry are matched to the specified CDU during the DFM engineering review, before samples are made.
What are the lead times and prices?
Cold plate samples typically take 4–6 weeks; CDU samples typically take 8–10 weeks. CDUs, dry coolers and other equipment are configured to order, with scope agreed per project. Everything is quoted per project; send an RFQ with your rack loads and site conditions.
Continue Exploring
Related ToneCooling Australia pages
SOLUTION
AI Server Liquid Cooling
Direct-to-chip cold plate kits for GB300, GB200, H200 and H100-class AI servers.
PRODUCTGB300 Cold Plate
GB300-class standard cold plate, supplied to its datasheet.
PRODUCTGB200 Cold Plate
GB200-class standard cold plate, supplied to its datasheet.
COMPARISONLiquid vs Air Cooling
When AI data centres need direct-to-chip liquid cooling over air.
RESOURCEAI Server Cooling Design Guide
Engineering reference for direct-to-chip AI server cold plate design.
CHECKLISTRack Manifold RFQ Checklist
What to send so a rack manifold can be quoted accurately.
Send your data centre liquid cooling brief
Rack loads and TDP per platform, target flow and pressure drop, facility water temperature, the CDU you plan to use (or ask us to size one) and the site location. An engineer reviews every RFQ and replies by email with next steps.
Request a Quote