Panasonic Launches Liquid Cooling Systems Business for Generative AI Data Centers in Europe

Osaka, Japan – Panasonic Corporation (https://holdings.panasonic/global/) today announced that its Heating & Ventilation A/C Company (hereinafter referred to as Panasonic) began accepting orders in the European market from March 4, 2026, for two models of Coolant Distribution Units (CDUs) for generative AI data centers (400kW and 800kW), as well as two models of free-cooling chillers (800kW and 1,200kW). In addition, Panasonic is developing CDUs with capacities of 1,200kW and above with order acceptance scheduled to begin within March 2026.

Data center construction is accelerating rapidly around the world. To prevent IT rack failures and system downtime, data centers require cooling systems capable of removing substantial heat generated during operation. Traditionally, the mainstream approach has been air-cooling which produces cold air by using chilled water supplied by chillers*¹. However, in recent years, generative AI data centers have begun to face increasing challenges due to the significant rise in heat output from high-performance semiconductor GPU chips responsible for advanced computational processing. To maintain performance and ensure stable operation while minimizing electrical load associated with cooling, there is growing demand for high-efficiency liquid cooling particularly in hyperscalers*² and colocation data centers*³.

In 2023, Panasonic acquired Tecnair S.p.A*⁴, an Italy-based company that manufactures Close Control Air-Conditioning Units (CCUs) essential for air-cooling and has been expanding its cooling systems business for data centers in Europe. This time, the company has developed CDUs that perform heat exchange and distribute coolant by using chilled water supplied by chillers. With the addition of CDUs, Panasonic can now offer solutions that combine traditional air-cooling with high-efficiency liquid cooling systems. This enables significant power savings and reduces the overall system footprint required to achieve the same cooling capacity, contributing to space optimization in data centers.

Furthermore, targeting small to medium scale facilities such as edge data centers*⁵, Panasonic has developed its first chillers designed for data centers equipped with a free-cooling function that utilizes low outdoor temperatures (up to 10°C) to generate chilled water, delivering high energy efficiency. In addition, by adopting the low-GWP refrigerant R1234ze(E) (GWP: 1), the chillers contribute to reducing environmental impact.

*1: A large unit that supplies chilled water to air-conditioning equipment within a building. *2: A large-scale data center designed to meet the massive computing demands of companies that provide internet services, social media platforms, and cloud services. *3: A data center facility that enterprises can rent to install their own servers and network equipment. *4: https://news.panasonic.com/global/press/en230317-1 *5: A small to medium scale data center located close to end users to minimize network latency.