Castrol partners with Airsys for next-gen cooling

Castrol, a leading player in advanced thermal management solutions, and Airsys, a renowned provider of data centre cooling systems, have announced a strategic partnership to accelerate industry adoption of liquid cooling technologies for next-generation data centres.

The companies will work together to integrate their solutions, co-develop products and create wider industry awareness on the need for liquid cooling. Through close collaboration, the companies have reached an important milestone with Castrol's Immersion Cooling Fluid DC 20 achieving full compatibility certification for Airsys equipment. The fluid is approved for use within Airsys' innovative LiquidRack systems, delivering seamless integration and optimal performance.

The collaboration between Castrol and Airsys comes at a time when the need for innovation in data centre cooling has become critically important. The latest GPU products are becoming increasingly powerful, driven by a boom in AI applications.More powerful systems create more heat which traditional air-cooling methods cannot keep pace with.

According to research from McKinsey, average power densities have more than doubled in just two years to 17kW, and this trend is not likely to slow down. Large Language Models (LLMs) such as ChatGPT can consume more than 80 kW per rack, and Nvidia’s latest chip could require rack densities of up to 120 kW. Overheating systems can lead to failures and damage to equipment. As per Castrol’s recent industry research, 74% of data centre industry experts believe liquid cooling is now the only option to meet the current demands

By working together, Castrol and Airsys aim to accelerate innovation and technology adoption to enable the data centre industry to efficiently meet and outpace growing demands in the age of AI. Both companies bring extensive expertise to the collaboration – Castrol brings over 125 years of fluid formulation and cooling expertise to the data centre cooling industry, while Airsys has 30 years of experience in global cooling solutions for critical environments, such as its innovative spray cooling technology which was designed to solve the thermal bottleneck of AI, while also reducing the need for mechanical cooling.

"Liquid cooling is no longer just an emerging trend — it’s a strategic priority for the future of thermal management. At Airsys, we’ve built a legacy in air cooling over decades, supporting critical infrastructure with reliable, high-performance systems. This foundation has enabled us to evolve and lead in liquid cooling innovation. Ourcollaboration with Castrol combines our engineering depth with their expertise in advanced thermal fluids, enabling us to deliver next-generation solutions that meet the demands of high-density, high-efficiency environments," said Matthew Thompson, Managing Director at Airsys United Kingdom.

“Castrol has been working closely with Airsys for two years and we’re excited to continue working together as we look to accelerate the adoption of liquid cooling technology and to help the industry support the AI boom,” said Peter Huang, Global President – Data Centre and Thermal Management at Castrol.

“We have been co-engineering solutions with OEMs for decades and the partnership with Airsys is another example of how Castrol leans into technical problems and supports its customers and partners in delivering optimal solutions” added Peter Huang.