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Meeting rising thermal demands of large-scale data processing
Liquid cooling technology company Motivair by Schneider Electric has introduced two new coolant distribution units (CDUs) that are engineered to meet the rising thermal demands of high-performance computing (HPC) and AI workloads.
The company says the two models are its first purpose-built CDUs for optimised installation in utility corridors, aimed at offering data center operators enhanced flexibility, performance and integration across a wider range of deployments.
The MCDU-45 and MCDU-55 CDUs are designed to provide greater cooling capacities, features and design conditions to allow operators to leverage a wider range of chilled water temperatures to optimise deployment and operations.
The addition of the new CDUs means that the company can now offer additional floor-mounted CDUs and in-rack units, tailored to enable enhanced cooling strategies for hyperscale, AI, colocation, edge and retrofit environments.
Having a full range of CDU deployment options allows operators to tailor cooling strategies to their specific AI infrastructure, data center design, and workload demands, aimed at achieving optimal thermal performance and operational resilience as compute densities continue to rise.
The key benefits of the new CDUs include:
- Space optimisation and flexibility: operators can choose the model that meets their specific deployment goals.
- Energy savings: wider operating ranges enable heat rejection systems to unlock energy efficiency and improve power usage effectiveness.
- Simplified maintenance and accessibility: diverse placement of CDUs improves flexibility for service access without disrupting AI workload or IT operations.
- Enhanced integration with chiller plants: the full range of CDUs supports advanced thermal management strategies with precise flow control, real-time monitoring and adaptive load balancing to help ensure optimised plant performance and reduced energy consumption.
The company notes that the CDUs are designed to meet the soaring demands of high-density computing owing to the exponential growth of AI applications, particularly in HPC, AI Factory and data centre environments.



