데이터센터 냉각 시장, AI 랙이 공랭에서 액랭으로 전환을 이끌며 2031년 420억 달러 도달 전망… 연평균 성장률 16.5%: Wissen Research

, /PRNewswire/ -- How big is the data center cooling market, and what is driving its growth?

The global data center cooling market is valued at USD 19.5 billion in 2026 and is projected to reach USD 42 billion by 2031, growing at a CAGR of 16.5% over the forecast period (2026–2031), according to a new study by Wissen Research.

The number that explains the growth is rack density. The U.S. Department of Energy's COOLERCHIPS 1.5 programme, announced on 26 August 2026, targets cooling systems capable of managing thermal loads of up to 1 MW per rack, a figure that shows how far AI infrastructure has pushed heat management. The report finds the market moving from conventional air-based cooling toward more efficient and advanced thermal management architectures, including liquid cooling, hybrid air-and-liquid designs, row- and rack-based configurations, and AI-assisted optimization.

Air is not going away yet. The Uptime Institute's 2025 Cooling Systems Survey found that 75% of surveyed operators used perimeter air cooling, and the ICEF Sustainable Data Centers Roadmap reported that 95% of nearly 1,000 surveyed owners and operators relied predominantly on air-cooled systems in 2024. That contrast between an installed base built on air and new workloads that need more than air is what frames the market.

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Air Still Leads Today, While Liquid Cooling Takes On the Hardest Loads

Air-based cooling held the leading position by cooling technology in 2025 because of its established installed infrastructure, lower implementation complexity, operational familiarity, and compatibility with existing data center architectures, particularly in conventional enterprise and colocation facilities. Uptime's survey also found that air-cooled chillers were the most commonly used external heat-rejection system, at 35% of responses from 400 operators, and that direct expansion systems and air conditioners accounted for 22% of reported primary heat-rejection systems.

Liquid approaches are gaining attention for the densest environments. Direct-to-chip cooling, immersion cooling, adiabatic cooling, and closed-loop systems give operators alternative ways to manage higher thermal loads and reduce water consumption. Suppliers are building out the hardware: Schneider Electric unveiled its Motivair liquid cooling portfolio in September 2025, covering coolant distribution units (CDUs), rear-door heat exchangers, dynamic cold plates, liquid-to-air heat dissipation units, chillers, and technology cooling system loops. Vertiv's CoolLoop rear-door heat exchanger offers cooling capacities of up to 80 kW per rack, Boyd's ROL2300 CDU offers 2.3 MW and supports more than 10 NVIDIA NVL72 racks per unit, Johnson Controls' Silent-Aire CDU portfolio scales from 500 kW to more than 10 MW, and Carrier's CDUs range from 1.3 MW to 5 MW for hyperscale and colocation facilities.

Water and Energy Rules Are Becoming Design Inputs

Cooling decisions are no longer only about removing heat. The European Commission's Delegated Regulation (EU) 2024/1364 established a common framework for data center sustainability ratings and reporting, with reporting deadlines including 15 May 2025, and in early 2026 the Commission started a 24-month study on minimum performance standards for data centers that could influence cooling equipment selection and design. China's National Development and Reform Commission and associated agencies issued a green and low-carbon development action plan for data centers in July 2024 that includes energy-saving upgrades and improved cooling efficiency. India's government has highlighted direct-to-chip, immersion, adiabatic, and closed-loop liquid cooling as ways to reduce data center water consumption, and its District Cooling Guidelines 2023 recommend treated water for cooling-tower make-up and alternative water sources wherever feasible.

The report's reading is that technology adoption must address both thermal performance and resource efficiency. Operators have to weigh energy efficiency, water requirements, climate conditions, and infrastructure constraints when selecting cooling architectures, while sustainability reporting increases the importance of showing improved resource use alongside reliable temperature control.

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What's Fueling Growth in the Data Center Cooling Market

Rising data center capacity: Expanding facilities need additional cooling equipment. India's installed data center capacity grew from approximately 375 MW in 2020 to around 1,500 MW by 2025.

AI and high-performance computing workloads: Higher rack power densities and heat loads are encouraging operators to adopt cooling solutions capable of handling them.

Energy efficiency: Operators are investing in cooling technologies that reduce power consumption and improve performance, supported by government energy-efficiency initiatives.

Regulatory and sustainability requirements: Rules on energy performance, water consumption, and environmental reporting encourage more efficient and sustainable cooling infrastructure.

Advances in liquid cooling: Direct-to-chip, immersion, and closed-loop systems are expanding the options for managing high-density computing environments.

Hyperscale and colocation investment: Growing investment in these facilities increases demand for scalable cooling equipment and services.

Challenges Facing the Data Center Cooling Market