By: Canninah Dladla - Cluster President for Sub-Saharan Africa at Schneider Electric

AI infrastructure has arrived, and with it the reality: power-hungry chips like NVIDIA’s Blackwell have pushed traditional air cooling beyond its limits. Indeed, with rack densities rising from 20 kW to more than 140 kW, and the 1 MW milestone approaching, the industry is now moving into the liquid cooling deployment phase for AI workloads.

Direct-to-chip liquid cooling (DLC) answers the call, delivering coolant directly to processors, enabling efficient heat removal in high-density AI environments. However, moving from a pilot project to full-scale production introduces complex engineering challenges.

For one, liquid cooling requires much closer integration between facility infrastructure and IT hardware, where it becomes a single interconnected system.

Also, unlike air cooling, where airflow adjustments can often resolve thermal issues after deployment, liquid cooling requires precision from specification through operation. Small mistakes in fluid chemistry, pressure management or system design can result in hardware damage, warranty issues and reduced efficiency.

Eight challenges of direct liquid cooling deployment

1. Material compatibility and corrosion risks

Material incompatibility between the Cooling Distribution Units (CDUs) and connected components increases the risk of galvanic corrosion, which can create debris that clogs cold plates and damages servers.

When two or more metals with different electrochemical potentials are connected in the presence of a fluid, it sets off a process of galvanic corrosion. These metals are said to be incompatible when the difference becomes large enough to cause issues such as material degradation and redeposition.

Operators must minimise the difference in the anodic index between the materials used for all wetted surfaces. This means strictly following IT manufacturer guidelines for compatible materials and refer to acceptable metals listed by organisations like Open Compute Project

Also, keep a comprehensive registry of all materials used, avoid materials like aluminium unless using proper inhibitors, and consider using separate cooling loops if cold plate materials vary across different IT vendors.

2. Balancing efficiency gains with infrastructure costs

Liquid cooling allows higher chilled water temperatures, improving chiller efficiency. However, achieving maximum energy savings may require investment in a dedicated high-temperature chilled water plant.

Operators typically choose between:

Using existing low-temperature chillers and sacrificing some efficiency gains.

Building a dedicated high-temperature chiller plant for liquid-cooled loads.

A total cost of ownership analysis over 10 years or more can help determine the best approach, with climate conditions playing a major role.

3. Increased system integration complexity

Direct liquid cooling physically connects servers to cooling infrastructure, introducing new considerations around piping, coolant flow, leak prevention and cooling distribution.

Successful deployments, however, require collaboration between IT and infrastructure suppliers, compatible connections, dedicated cooling loops, and advanced leak detection systems. Pressure control and flow balancing are also essential to maintain stable cooling performance.

4. Lack of liquid cooling standards

Unlike air cooling, liquid cooling does not yet have widely adopted efficiency and capacity standards for CDUs. Performance ratings can vary depending on fluid type, temperature and flow conditions, making comparisons difficult.

Until formal standards are established, operators should request vendor testing data based on emerging industry guidelines and limit CDU loop capacity to reduce the impact of potential failures.

5. Designing for unknown future IT loads

Data centres increasingly need to prepare for liquid-cooled IT without knowing the exact future equipment mix. Because DLC connects cooling directly to each server, systems must support a wide range of rack densities.

A flexible design approach includes sizing main piping for overall capacity while designing branches and manifolds for maximum rack density. Developing adaptable liquid cooling “pods” can also help manage future requirements.

6. Managing contamination risks during installation

Contamination risks weigh far heavier on the Technology Cooling System (TCS) loop than on the Facility Water System (FWS), given the direct consequences for IT equipment.

During installation, vulnerabilities can arise from mismatched materials in connectors, piping, and manifolds; the use of unsuitable fluid sealants on threaded joints; or microbial growth that develops at stagnation points within the TCS coolant.

These risks can be contained through proactive design and disciplined installation practices. Keeping cooling loops smaller helps limit the spread of contamination. Also, Components should be assembled in clean environments, biocide added before the initial fill, and the system thoroughly flushed with all air purged before connecting IT equipment.

If installation is delayed, the coolant must be kept in motion - circulated and filtered continuously - to prevent stagnant fluid from becoming a breeding ground for bacteria.

7. Warranty and responsibility challenges

As DLC connects cooling systems directly to IT hardware. warranty responsibilities between server manufacturers, cooling suppliers and installers can become unclear.

Operators should therefore establish agreements on cooling temperatures, flow rates and pressures, define maintenance responsibilities early, and ensure warranty conditions do not conflict across suppliers.

8. Managing GPU power spikes

AI workloads drive rapid changes in GPU power consumption, often outpacing the response time of conventional cooling systems.

Software-imposed power limits can reduce this risk, but at the cost of performance. A stronger safeguard is to stage workloads gradually, monitor GPU temperatures closely, and fine‑tune coolant flow or temperature as needed.

Building the future of AI-Ready infrastructure

Moving from liquid cooling pilots to production environments requires a fundamental change in how data centres are designed, installed and operated. AI-ready infrastructure leaves little room for disconnected teams or isolated systems.

Ultimately, success depends on integrating IT requirements with facility capabilities from the beginning. With a disciplined approach to specification, installation and operations, organisations can manage the complexity of liquid cooling and unlock the performance and efficiency needed for the next generation of AI workloads.