US startup Accelsius has commissioned research suggesting datacentres could cut cooling costs significantly by switching to two-phase cooling fluids for AI accelerators, which run far hotter than traditional server chips. The approach matters because the ongoing AI datacentre building boom, combined with rising electricity costs and supply constraints, has made cooling efficiency an increasingly important factor in operating expenses.

Accelsius says its NeuCool two-phase coolant, which behaves like refrigerants used in fridges and air conditioners rather than conventional single-phase liquids, allows facility water to run up to 14°C hotter than existing systems, reaching temperatures of 54°C or even 59°C with increased flow rates. The company claims each 1°C rise in facility water temperature yields roughly 4 per cent in annual energy savings, and testing on a modified Dell PowerEdge XE9680L server fitted with eight Nvidia B200 accelerators showed temperature drops of up to 19°C at the cold plate and 9-14°C at the system level, potentially reducing reliance on water-intensive evaporative cooling in favour of simpler dry coolers.