Edward Yusko

Data Center Frontier - Heat Transfer Fluids

Red Hot Data Center Growth Needs Smart Innovation to Stay Cool

By Benjamin Taylor | 22 September 2025

Recent innovations in HVAC technology offer cost-effective, efficient solutions to ease the strain data centers place on the grid

The rapid growth of data center construction, fueled by an almost insatiable appetite for artificial intelligence, has been a boon for the US economy with JP Morgan forecasting that AI alone will increase GDP by 20 basis points in the next twelve months. The US Department of Energy estimates that power used by data centers accounted for 4.4% of total national energy consumption in 2023, and by 2028 as much as 12%. That growth will put an enormous strain on power grids across the country.

A significant driver of any data center’s energy usage is the cooling demand for its chips which operate at temperatures < 77º. The energy required to maintain these temperatures can overload regional energy grids, particularly during a heat wave resulting in a power failure. While this situation might be manageable in some business sectors, it is untenable for the mission-critical services of data centers.

For this reason, data centers operators have engineered and deployed redundancies ranging from Tier 1 designs with minimal to no redundancies all the way up to Tier 5 configurations, which rely on extensive backup systems to maintain systems staying online during power or equipment failures. However, with rising energy costs, new chips that require more cooling and the increase in ambient temperatures, even these redundancies are inadequate over time to insulate data centers from the risk of overheating and overloading the power grid.

Fortunately, innovations have recently emerged in HVAC technology that offer cost-effective, efficient solutions to alleviate the strain that data centers are placing on our power grid.

One example of recent innovations is the development of heat transfer fluids that allow water-to-air-based cooling systems to operate more efficiently while lowering their overall energy consumption. These fluids reduce maintenance costs and increase thermal capacity, all without any major changes to existing infrastructure. One such example is Maxwell®, a heat transfer fluid manufactured by HT Materials Science (HTMS) that uses submicron particles of aluminum oxide to increase the thermal capacity of primary cooling systems by up to 15%. Maxwell® has been successfully deployed at over 30 locations by such companies as Amazon, Johnson & Johnson, Ericsson, Regeneron, Swire Properties and Aramco. HTMS is also developing in partnership with EcoLab Nalco innovative heat transfer fluids for direct to chip (DTC) and immersion cooling applications.

While the massive growth of AI has given rise to the aforementioned challenges, it can also play a key role in navigating solutions. For example, AI-optimized HVAC systems can analyze operating conditions in real time, anticipate potential problems and adjust cooling loads before any overheating occurs.

In addition to these advanced technologies, more traditional HVAC components that also improve efficiency include variable-speed fans, free cooling coils that use ambient air in cooler weather to cool the system, and high-efficiency pumps that optimize airflow and cooling distribution so that energy is only directed where and when it’s needed. Together these technologies offer a cost-effective way for older HVAC systems to be retrofitted and achieve greater performance without a full scale overhaul of the existing system.

While the expansion of AI has opened up a realm of seemingly limitless possibilities in the digital world, data centers are in fact limited by the constraints of our energy supply infrastructure. Now is the time for data centers to direct the spirit of innovation that has fueled the development of AI toward embracing new cooling system technologies that create more energy capacity for data centers to thrive.

Reproduced from the original article

by Edward Yusko

Climate Control News - Maxwell at DKSH Malaysia

Retrofit delivers savings, no downtime

By Sandra Rossi | 20 August 2025

HT Materials Science (HTMS), a global leader in cooling technology, has successfully implemented its breakthrough heat-transfer fluid, Maxwell, at a pharmaceutical cold storage facility operated by DKSH Malaysia.

The installation resulted in significant energy savings, operational improvements and system performance—positioning the project as one of Southeast Asia's most effective commercial HVAC retrofits to date.

Created by suspending sub-micron particles of aluminium oxide in a base fluid of water or glycol, Maxwell is a non-toxic, fully recyclable additive that enhances heat transfer in industrial HVAC systems.

That improved heat transfer reduces energy consumption while increasing system capacity. For the DKSH Malaysia project, adding Maxwell led to a 13 per cent reduction in the chiller's energy consumption, for a projected annual savings of 600,000 kilowatt hours and a payback period of 2.1 years.

This installation was procured and engineered by Tri Quantity Sdn Bhd, an energy management and audit company based in Malaysia.

Based on energy savings alone, the payback period for this project is projected at just over two years.

It's a welcome innovation for a facility with strict temperature and humidity needs and regulations, as installing Maxwell requires no system downtime.

In addition to energy savings, DKSH expects reduced wear and tear on the facility's HVAC equipment, longer system lifespan and lower maintenance costs due to reduced scaling and improved fluid dynamics.

HTMS CEO, Thomas Grizzetti, said this installation demonstrates that smart, science-driven HVAC technologies can deliver immediate cost savings and long-term sustainability benefits.

“We're proud to partner with forward-thinking companies like Tri Quantity and DKSH who are helping to set the standards for energy efficiency in large-scale commercial facilities,” Grizzetti said.

"What makes this so compelling is the speed at which results materialized. Within weeks, we saw verified energy savings—demonstrating just how accessible and impactful these upgrades can be for building operators anywhere in the world."

The head of supply chain management, DKSH Malaysia & Brunei, Joel Solomon, said this initiative not only strengthens operational efficiency but also reaffirms DKSH's commitment to sustainable, future-focused business practices.

This project provides a compelling blueprint for how commercial facilities can unlock measurable energy gains through smart retrofits.

The results are applicable across industries including logistics, education, retail and data centres. HTMS contracts include performance guarantees, with minimum savings thresholds and annual reconciliation.

Reproduced from the original article

by Edward Yusko