New IDTechEx Report: Thermal Management For Data Centers 2026-2036
Oct 08, 2025
With the increasing demand for high-performance computing in sectors like AI, cloud computing, and crypto mining, the thermal design power (TDP) of chips has risen significantly over the past 16 years. Nivida's B300 GPU, released in early 2025, has already demonstrated a TDP of 1400W with its NV rack demanding a total power of 140kW. With the roadmap released by Nvidia on its next-generation Rubin chip and similar upcoming competitors such as MI400, IDTechEx believes we will soon see chips with TDP over 1500kW. This upward trend in TDP has propelled a need for more efficient thermal management systems at both the micro (inside semiconductor packaging, on-chip, and on-server) and macro (server rack and facility) levels. In recent years, leading data center hyperscalers and colocators have collaborated with various cooling component suppliers, server ODMs (original design manufacturers), system integrators, and fabless designers, to launch innovative pilot projects and commercialize ready-to-use cooling solutions, aiming to enhance cooling performance and meet sustainability targets by adopting more efficient cooling solutions.
IDTechEx's report, "Thermal Management for Data Centers 2026-2036: Technologies, Markets, and Opportunities" covers a granular market forecast of data center cooling technologies segmented cooling technology (e.g., single-phase direct-to-chip (D2C), two-phase D2C, single-phase immersion, and two-phase immersion). The report conducts in-depth technical and commercial of essential components for liquid cooling, along with a breakdown of the cooling value chain, technological barriers of different cooling methods, cost analysis of players in different value chain positions, value chain consolidation potentials, and roadmap for the future cooling strategy.
In addition to technical analysis, a comprehensive commercial landscape, such as, data center cooling value chain, partnerships between players across the value chain, a summary of liquid cooling suppliers for leading players, and competitive landscape analysis has also been analyzed.
The report delivers an in-depth volume and market size forecast for liquid cooling, categorized by components including piping/valves/monitoring, CDUs for immersion, immersion coolant, immersion tanks, heat sinks, 3D vapor chambers, CDUs for D2C, sidecar, rear door heat exchanger (RDHx), fans, quick disconnects, manifolds, and cold plate systems (including cold plates, hoses, pipes, and fluid distribution networks within servers). It also offers a detailed forecast for immersion cooling, segmented by immersion tanks, immersion coolant, CDUs, and related piping, valves, and monitoring systems. Additionally, the forecast is further divided by single-phase and two-phase cooling technologies.
The report also provides a 10-year outlook on the use of thermal interface materials (TIM) for data center components, including TIM2s and TIM1s/TIM1.5s for advanced processors. Moreover, it includes a forecast of liquid cooling adoption, differentiating between AI and non-AI applications, to highlight the industries expected to present the most significant opportunities.
Key aspects of this report
This report provides critical market intelligence on data center cooling technologies across multiple solution categories. This includes:
- An updated forecast of data center power demand from 2026 to 2036, including key assumptions and methodology.
- A comprehensive review of liquid cooling economics, including payback time analysis, benchmarking of CAPEX and OPEX across four case studies, and value chain assessment of adoption drivers.
- A full market characterization of single-phase direct-to-chip (D2C) cooling, including thermal cost analysis of cold plate systems, rack-level power distribution impacts, and a forecast from 2025 to 2036 covering cold plates, quick disconnects, fans, CDUs, and manifolds (both market size in US$ and sales volume in units). This also includes analysis of market share between single-phase and two-phase D2C cooling.
- An overview of two-phase direct-to-chip cooling, covering adoption drivers and barriers, as well as its adoption timeline in relation to processor TDP evolution.
- A detailed assessment of single-phase immersion cooling, including the use of TIMs, a forecast from 2026 to 2036 (covering coolant, tanks, CDUs, and associated infrastructure such as piping and monitoring), and market share comparisons with two-phase immersion cooling.
- A review of two-phase immersion cooling, focusing on barriers to adoption and potential technology bottlenecks.
- A new chapter on microfluidic cooling, including its research frontiers, use cases for advanced chips, forecasts for microfluidic-cooled semiconductor packaging units, and a review of technical barriers.
- A new dedicated sub-chapter on coolant, including a market forecast to 2036, compatibility analysis with materials (plastics, metals, hoses/pipes) across immersion and D2C solutions, and cost comparisons of single- vs. two-phase coolants.
- An updated analysis of thermal interface materials (TIMs), including TIMs for immersion cooling, TIM1 and TIM1.5 for advanced semiconductor packaging, market forecasts for TIM1/1.5, and an updated market sizing for TIM2 in data centers.
- Expanded coverage of coolant distribution units (CDUs), including liquid-to-liquid cooling configurations, commercial examples, energy savings vs. liquid-to-air systems, component-level analysis (pumps, filters, sensors), and emerging trends in in-row and in-rack CDUs.
- A new chapter on quick disconnects (QDs), including cost analysis and market trends.
- A review of supply chain dynamics, partnerships, and cooling roadmaps, including supplier capacity for cold plates, market share of leading suppliers, server supply chain breakdown (ODMs, chassis, CPUs, switches, and thermal components), Nvidia's liquid cooling suppliers by component, and updated cost benchmarks across cooling elements.
- Market and commercial opportunity analysis, including value chain collaboration by data center type (hyperscalers, colocators, enterprise), granular cooling component cost breakdowns (cold plates, fans, CDUs, QDs, etc.), and total cost of ownership (TCO) and payback time evaluations.
For the full report details and sample pages, reach out to our team at research@IDTechEx.com, or visit www.IDTechEx.com/TMDC.