Ecolab has completed its acquisition of direct-to-chip (D2C) liquid cooling vendor CoolIT Systems in a $4.75 billion transaction designed to expand Ecolab’s reach in data centers.
Under the deal, Ecolab will extend its water technologies, research and service to the AI infrastructure and computing market. A market where CoolIT has grown more than 100% year-to-date for its D2C liquid cooling technologies.
Ecolab said it will be positioned to offer end-to-end solutions across the AI value chain including ultra-pure water used to produce advanced chips and high-performing water systems for power generation and now direct liquid cooling for AI data centers.
Recently, CoolIT unveiled a path to what it claims is the first 15 KW cold plate design that delivers four times the performance of earlier single-phase direct liquid cooling platforms. This would push D2C liquid cooling beyond the so-called limit of 2.0 KW suggesting the technology could meet future AI GPU needs by 2030.
Ecolab’s cooling-as-a-service (CaaS) could be seen as a technology beyond D2C cooling that includes both facility environment as well as individual technology loops. The company could be using CoolIT to bring the next generation of this CaaS that includes its 15 KW cold plate design along with its own cooling technologies for the future of the AI data center cooling mechanisms.
Future plans
In fact, at Supercomputing in November 2026, Ecolab plans to introduce an end-to-end 3D Trasar cooling platform that will combine cooling distribution units and cold plates from CoolIT with integrated 3D Trasar digital optimization and cooling fluids from Ecolab. This could be the start of such a plan that will combine both D2C along with CaaS.
The solution will optimize water, power and compute performance at scale, Ecolab said. The system will allow data center operators with real-time visibility into system performance to help reduce cooling power demand and increase power efficiency. Ecolab said it will help move data centers toward a near-zero water footprint.
Specifically, the planned device will be targeted at upcoming architectures like Nvidia’s Vera Rubin, Grace Blackwell and others to shift AI infrastructure to have less of an impact on the environment and natural resources, the company said.
“Nvidia has collaborated with Ecolab and CoolIT across a broad range of liquid‑cooling initiatives, including coolant qualification, coolant health monitoring, cooling infrastructure development, and next‑generation AI factory technologies,” said Ali Heydari, technical director and distinguished engineer at Nvidia, and Saket Karajgikar, senior engineering manager and ASME fellow at Nvidia. “Through collaborations spanning Nvidia engineering labs, research programs, and large‑scale AI infrastructure deployments, Ecolab and CoolIT have consistently demonstrated strong technical expertise, innovation, and responsiveness.”
Ecolab said it will continue to work with hyperscalers after the acquisition for power and water ecosystem needs and support next-generation AI data centers.
Why it matters
According to market research firm Research and Markets, data center D2C cooling market is expected to grow to $17.31 billion by 2032 up from just $3.33 billion in 2026. This will reflect a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 26.5% during the forecast period.
Research and Markets said the growth will come from a need for thermal precision and component-level heat management in computing systems. With modern processes generating more heat at specific points, liquid cooling will continue to challenge traditional cooling methods to maintain constant temperature control.
D2C specifically addresses this issue by delivering coolant directly to heat-generating components to ensure temperature management and prolonging hardware lifespans.
Ecolab is expecting this growth to fuel this acquisition and growth in data centers over the next five years as well as continue its solutions across fabs and power systems.
