FM newsroom – data centres, energy management. As artificial intelligence reshapes the data centre landscape, Schneider Electric is stepping up to meet the challenge. The company has unveiled a new range of advanced liquid cooling solutions designed to handle the extreme performance demands of current and future AI-driven data centres — including technologies from its newly acquired subsidiary, Motivair.
With the rapid expansion of AI, data centre operators are facing new challenges. The industry is gradually surpassing the traditional power density of 140 kW per rack. With the emergence of the era of AI factories, it is preparing for power densities of 1 MW or even higher per rack.
AI factoryis a specialised computing infrastructure designed to create value from data by managing the entire lifecycle of artificial intelligence.
Liquid cooling is a strategic necessity
Artificial intelligence is the next technological revolution and has undoubtedly made liquid cooling a strategic necessity for data centres and AI factories. Responding to this trend, Schneider Electric acquired a majority stake in Motivair in February 2025. The move enables Schneider to offer a comprehensive range of liquid and air cooling systems for data centre operators worldwide.
Cooling systems can account for up to 40% of a data centre’s total energy consumption. Direct liquid cooling can remove heat up to 3,000 times more effectively than air-based systems. Implementing such technology requires a holistic approach — encompassing procurement, installation, and long-term maintenance.
To address these challenges, Schneider Electric and Motivair have developed one of the most complete liquid cooling portfolios on the market. Their joint offering covers every key element of cooling infrastructure, supported by a global supply chain capable of meeting growing demand.
“As data centre cooling becomes increasingly complex in the AI era, our portfolio continues to evolve to meet both current and future infrastructure needs. Today, we are the only liquid cooling provider with proven expertise at the chip level, having developed our solutions in collaboration with NVIDIA and other leading GPU manufacturers. Together with Schneider Electric, we’ve created a unique portfolio that not only accelerates time-to-market but also boosts ROI for customers worldwide,” said Richard Whitmore, CEO of Motivair by Schneider Electric.
Advanced Cooling Power for High-Density AI Workloads
The new Schneider Electric–Motivair lineup includes high-performance Coolant Distribution Units (CDUs) capable of delivering between 105 kW and 2.5 MW of cooling power — technology that is years ahead of current market demands.
Motivair’s CDU systems already cool six of the world’s ten leading supercomputers and are certified for use with NVIDIA’s latest hardware. Another key product, the ChilledDoor® Rear Door Heat Exchanger, supports up to 75 kW per rack, making it ideal for GPU-intensive workloads. Its rack-independent design provides flexible, efficient cooling across a range of high-performance computing environments.
“These systems deliver top performance while improving energy efficiency and uptime for data centre operators. Liquid cooling has evolved from a performance enhancer to a fundamental element of modern, high-density computing environments. As the only manufacturer capable of designing and delivering all critical infrastructure for both power and cooling, Schneider Electric simplifies deployment and reduces the operational complexity of AI data centres,” noted Olga Yashkova, Research Director at IDC for Enterprise Workloads and Datacenter Infrastructure.