Itochu and Castrol Forge Strategic Alliance on Data Center Liquid Cooling in Japan
December 15, 2025
A major strategic partnership has been formed to address one of the most pressing challenges in modern data center infrastructure: cooling high-density computing loads driven by artificial intelligence. Japanese trading and investment giant Itochu Corporation, along with its system integration subsidiary Itochu Techno-Solutions Corporation (CTC), has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with BP-owned lubricants specialist Castrol. The collaboration aims to accelerate the deployment of liquid cooling technologies across Japan's data center market.
The agreement, announced on December 15, 2025, establishes a clear division of expertise to deliver comprehensive liquid cooling solutions. Castrol will provide its specialized, electrically insulating cooling fluids and related technical services. Itochu Corporation will leverage its extensive market presence and energy sector knowledge to support commercial development and supply chain logistics. Itochu Techno-Solutions, which operates a network of six data centers across Japan in locations including Yokohama, Kobe, and Shibuya, will be responsible for the end-to-end delivery, covering design, implementation, and ongoing operations for clients.
The move is a direct response to a global industry shift. "Across the globe, the rapid adoption of generative AI and high‑performance computing is driving up electricity demand and concentrating unprecedented heat loads in data centers, placing cooling capabilities under significant strain," the companies stated. They noted that this trend is now reshaping Japan, where data center energy consumption is projected to triple by 2034, forcing operators to look beyond traditional air-cooling methods. Liquid cooling is positioned as a practical solution to remove heat at its source, improve energy efficiency, increase compute density within existing footprints, and reduce the load on conventional cooling systems.
For the partners, the alliance merges deep regional and technical capabilities. Itochu Techno-Solutions, a major IT services provider formerly known as Hamilton/Avnet Electronics Japan, was taken fully private by its parent in a $2.7 billion deal in 2023. Castrol has been actively developing and marketing its line of liquid cooling fluids for several years, even deploying a modular, immersion-cooled data center at its UK research site for product testing and demonstration.
The partnership signals a significant step in the maturation of Japan's data center industry, aligning with national priorities for energy efficiency. By combining Castrol's fluid technology with Itochu's market access and CTC's integration prowess, the alliance is poised to lower the adoption barrier for liquid cooling, offering a viable path for Japanese data centers to support next-generation computing workloads sustainably.
Source: datacenterdynamics
