Furthermore, new technologies, such as liquid cooling methods, are expected to grow as data center operators seek ways to further improve efficiency and have to manage increasingly power-intensive computing capabilities.

Omdia’s Data Center Thermal Management Report 2020, published in late 2020 and based on 2018 and 2019 data, states that Vertiv holds a 23.5% share of the global data center cooling market, 10% more than its closest competitor. The data center cooling technology market is projected to grow from $3.3 billion in 2020 to over $4.3 billion in 2024, according to Omdia. Vertiv also leads the global market for edge cooling technologies with a 37.5% market share, more than 20% higher than its closest competitor.

In addition to analyzing market position, the report provides insights and data on how data center cooling technology is evolving. Established technologies such as chillers and perimeter cooling will continue to represent a large portion of the market. According to Omdia, direct expansion remains the primary method of heat dissipation in data center thermal management, but chilled water and direct evaporation are gaining traction. Furthermore, the momentum from cloud and colocation service providers has accelerated, resulting in double-digit growth for air handling units (AHUs).

Omdia predicts strong growth in liquid cooling methods – immersion and direct-to-chip – which are expected to double between 2020 and 2024. Several factors are contributing to this shift, including increased power consumption by chips and servers, the growth of edge computing, increased rack density, and energy efficiency and sustainability requirements.

Lucas Beran, principal research analyst for cloud and data centers at Omdia and author of the report, said: “The data center thermal management market is at a tipping point. Currently, existing air-based thermal products and solutions are driving growth, but they are limited by their ability to cool rack densities of more than 10kW. New technologies, products, and designs are coming to market to help support these high-density deployments and more efficient operations, leading to a shift in market dynamics through 2024.”.

“Vertiv’s enduring leadership in thermal management demonstrates that our customers value our field expertise, broad portfolio, and increasing investment in technology, research, and development,” said Giordano Albertazzi, President of Vertiv Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (EMEA). “The cooling products and solutions we launched throughout 2020 and our forward-thinking innovation roadmap will continue to deliver cutting-edge technology to our customers, enabling them to achieve greater efficiency and sustainability goals.”.

Vertiv has announced several recent innovations in refrigeration technology. In the EMEA region, Vertiv announced Vertiv™ Liebert®OFC , a new and highly advanced range of oil-free turbocharged chillers developed in partnership with Geoclima. The Liebert OFC is designed to use low-GWP refrigerants, including R1234ze, and to provide high energy efficiency. In addition, the entire floor-standing precision cooling range has been recently redesigned for maximum efficiency, including the Vertiv Liebert PDX Vertiv Liebert PCW chilled water range

In addition to internal innovations, Vertiv also works with industry thought leadership groups and recently became a Platinum Member of the Open Compute Project (OCP). Vertiv's role will include supporting liquid cooling adoption initiatives through the Advanced Cooling Solutions (ACS) and Advanced Cooling Facility (ACF) projects. The goal is to provide guidance and best practices for immersion and direct-to-chip liquid cooling technologies, as well as enable data center facilities to adopt liquid cooling.

Vertiv's own research on cooling technologies also points to future innovation. According to Data Center 2025: Closer to the Edge , the data center industry has undergone a large-scale shift toward cost-saving driven by hyperscale operators and colocation providers, while simultaneously driving heat removal closer to servers through backdoor and liquid cooling systems designed to support the high-density racks common in high-performance computing (HPC) facilities. Of the more than 800 data center professionals who responded to the survey, 42% expect future cooling requirements to be met by mechanical systems, while 22% say they will be satisfied with liquid and outdoor air cooling—a result likely driven by the more extreme rack densities seen today.