Google explores China suppliers for data center cooling

Google is in talks with Envicool and other Chinese firms to buy liquid cooling equipment for data centers.

Envicool is a Shenzhen-based maker of cooling components for data centres.

Sources said the trip reflects tight supply of liquid cooling parts and that Google met Envicool and plans to meet other suppliers.

A JPMorgan report projects the global AI server liquid cooling market will rise to more than US$17 billion in 2026 from US$8.9 billion last year.

Envicool showcased a coolant distribution unit and a Goldman Sachs report said the company expects liquid cooling revenue to grow.

The push to build AI data centers has tightened supply for chips and equipment, highlighting the growing role of Chinese suppliers despite US-Sino tensions.

Suppliers in China and Taiwan also provide components to cloud providers and chip makers.

🔗 Source: Reuters

🧠 Food for thought

Implications, context, and why it matters.

The shift to liquid cooling is becoming a physical necessity, not just a choice

Google is looking for suppliers because traditional air cooling cannot remove enough heat from current AI hardware 2.
Future NVIDIA chips may draw more than 1,500 watts, above the 700 watts of the H100, which pushes past what air-based setups can handle 2.
Forecasts put the global market for data centre liquid cooling up more than 1,100% from 2024 to 2030 3.
Some suppliers say orders already exceed total output, tightening supply that Google is trying to ease 2.

US export controls create a two-tiered technology supply chain

Google’s trip to China underscores a split in US export controls. Rules focus on advanced chips, the “brains” of AI, while much of the physical buildout sits outside the limits 4.
That gap can steer US tech giants toward Chinese factories for components such as liquid cooling equipment used in AI data centres 1.
Reliance adds risk since China has restricted exports of gallium, germanium, and graphite 5.
Chinese firms like Envicool are gaining business by working with US tech leaders, and Beijing could later use their role in cooling supply to apply pressure.