Daikin and CTS Group Unveil Patented Data Center Cooling Concept Targeting PUE Below 1.2

Daikin Applied Europe and CTS Group have jointly announced a patented cooling concept for data centers that is designed to cut cooling energy consumption and free up more electrical capacity for IT equipment, addressing one of the most pressing challenges facing the rapidly expanding AI infrastructure sector.

The collaboration, which began in 2023, combines Daikin's cooling technologies, controls and application expertise with CTS Group's modular engineering, system integration and prefabrication capabilities. The resulting system is projected to achieve Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE) values as low as 1.09 in Nordic climates and below 1.20 under assessed Middle Eastern ambient conditions, depending on climatic factors, the proportion of IT load served by liquid cooling, system configuration and operating conditions.

Developed specifically for high-density AI environments, the concept integrates an enhanced facility water system and maximised free cooling with an optimised system design and dedicated buffer pipe technology. It is engineered to respond rapidly to fluctuations in server heat load while maintaining stable water temperatures supplied to Coolant Distribution Units managing liquid-cooled AI servers. According to the companies, the system's dynamic response has been validated through full-scale factory testing under representative AI load profiles and during electrical short-break events.

The design maximises free cooling and optimises the facility water system to reduce cooling energy requirements. The companies noted that higher cooling efficiency can also lower electricity consumption for cooling, allowing a greater share of a facility's available electrical capacity to be allocated to IT equipment — a critical advantage as AI workloads push power densities to unprecedented levels. CTS Group designs and prefabricates factory-tested cooling skids incorporating Daikin chillers and CDUs alongside other core cooling components.

The announcement underscores a growing industry trend toward integrated, prefabricated cooling solutions that can be rapidly deployed and tuned for the extreme thermal demands of AI data centers. As operators worldwide grapple with rising power costs and sustainability targets, concepts that deliver sub-1.2 PUE while maintaining reliability under dynamic load conditions could become increasingly central to data center design strategies across both Nordic and warmer climate regions.