Schneider Electric's Motivair Launches Industry-Leading 2.5MW Cooling Unit for AI Data Centers
In a significant development for the data center industry, Motivair by Schneider Electric has announced the introduction of the MCDU-70, a new coolant distribution unit (CDU) designed specifically to address the intense cooling demands of next-generation artificial intelligence (AI) factories and high-performance computing (HPC) facilities. This announcement marks a pivotal step in liquid cooling technology, offering unprecedented capacity and scalability for modern digital infrastructure.
Unprecedented Cooling Capacity for AI Workloads
The newly unveiled MCDU-70 represents a breakthrough in cooling technology, delivering up to 2.5 megawatts (MW) of cooling capacity without compromising performance. This unit is engineered to maintain full flow performance and facility pressure even at gigawatt-scale operations, making it particularly suitable for the extreme power densities associated with AI clusters and GPU-intensive computing environments.
What sets this system apart is its remarkable scalability. Through centralized controls and integration with Schneider Electric's EcoStruxure software, Motivair's CDU portfolio can now scale to 10MW and beyond, providing data center operators with the flexibility needed to accommodate future growth and evolving technological demands. This scalability is crucial as AI workloads continue to expand and intensify across various industries.
Addressing the Heat Challenge of AI Infrastructure
The development of the MCDU-70 comes at a critical time when organizations deploying AI clusters are facing unprecedented thermal management challenges. Modern graphics processing units (GPUs) that power AI factories generate 20 to 50 times more heat than traditional central processing units (CPUs), creating cooling requirements that conventional air cooling systems simply cannot meet.
As rack power densities are projected to reach 1MW and beyond in advanced computing environments, liquid cooling has transitioned from an option to a necessity. The MCDU-70's compact and efficient design positions it as an ideal solution for large-scale facilities, including deployments aligned with NVIDIA's Omniverse DSX Blueprint, where cooling systems must support power requirements reaching gigawatt scale.
Strategic Integration and Future-Proof Design
With the addition of the MCDU-70, Schneider Electric's comprehensive liquid cooling portfolio now offers CDUs ranging from 105kW to 2.5MW, providing data center operators with a complete spectrum of cooling solutions. Each unit in this portfolio is designed for seamless integration with other systems and Schneider Electric's software platforms, delivering precise and reliable cooling capacity tailored to specific operational needs.
The strategic design of the MCDU-70 allows for flexible deployment configurations. For instance, six MCDU-70 units can provide a 4+2 redundancy configuration for large-scale designs, ensuring both performance and reliability. This capacity is specifically engineered to align with NVIDIA's GPU roadmap for the foreseeable future, offering data center operators a future-proof solution for their cooling infrastructure.
Industry Leadership and Vision
"AI isn't slowing down. Our solutions are designed to keep pace with chip and silicon evolution—delivering next-gen performance when it matters most," stated Rich Whitmore, CEO of Motivair by Schneider Electric. "Data center success now hinges on delivering scalable, reliable, efficient infrastructure solutions that match the next generation of AI Factory deployments. We're meeting that moment with proven liquid cooling solutions that scale with our customers' needs."
This announcement reinforces Schneider Electric's position as a leader in digital infrastructure solutions and highlights the growing importance of advanced cooling technologies in supporting the exponential growth of AI computing. As organizations worldwide continue to invest in AI capabilities, innovations like the MCDU-70 will play a crucial role in ensuring that data center infrastructure can support these demanding workloads efficiently and reliably.
