Shaping the future of liquid cooling technology in data centers: CEJN and the Open Compute Project (OCP)

The data center industry is undergoing huge technology shifts at a rapid pace. With advanced technologies demanding more power and efficiency, greater stress is put on thermal management systems. To meet the increasing cooling requirements, CEJN is actively contributing to the Open Compute Project (OCP), a collaborative community developing innovative open standard solutions for liquid cooling systems.

Traditional air cooling systems are insufficient while more advanced technologies enter the market stage, demanding more efficient and powerful data centers. Emil Pettersson, Design Engineer at CEJN AB, highlights the fast-moving evolution driven by Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) in today's market. “The increased integration with the internet and cloud services adds considerable stress to the thermal management systems, for which traditional air cooling is no longer enough,” he says.

To address these challenges, liquid cooling has emerged as the preferred solution. “In addition to outperforming conventional air cooling, liquid cooling also stands out for being the more sustainable solution, since it requires less power,” Pettersson says. Additionally, the heat generated through liquid cooling can be stored for potential use elsewhere, offering an efficient alternative to the wasteful heat dissipation of air cooling.

“In addition to outperforming conventional air cooling, liquid cooling also stands out for being the more sustainable solution, since it requires less power”

Emil Pettersson, Design Engineer at CEJN AB

Shaping the IT ecosystem: the work of OCP

The Open Compute Project (OCP) has become a leader in shaping the data center infrastructure to align with current and emerging developments within the IT ecosystem, including cooling techniques. The primary goal is to create interchangeable quick connect coupling solutions, enabling companies to use a standard solution rather than relying on a single variant. CEJN is a proud member of this community. Alongside industry leaders and chassis and manifold manufacturers, CEJN actively contributes to designing and developing quick connect coupling solutions to address the growing demands of thermal management in liquid cooling systems. “It’s exciting to play a contributing role in developing unique products that set new market standards,” Pettersson says.

CEJN is an actively contributing part of designing and developing interchangeable quick connect coupling solutions alongside industry leaders and chassis and manifolds manufacturers within OCP. 

CEJN has been involved in the project from the conceptual phase through testing to fostering collaboration among coupling manufacturers within the OCP initiative. “With our long experience and knowledge in quick coupling technology, we have confidence that our participation will move technology development forward,” he says. Furthermore, he emphasizes that having all the necessary competence and resources in-house has positioned CEJN as a flexible and secure partner in this project. “With everything under one roof, we maintain full control over the complete supply chain, from designing phase, testing and production to delivery.”

“With our long experience and knowledge in quick coupling technology, we have confidence that our participation will move technology development forward”

Emil Pettersson, Design Engineer at CEJN AB

Anticipating tomorrow’s demands

The development of cooling techniques in the data center industry is, however, a continuous process and the quest for the optimal solution is still in progress. Dennis Ahlgren, Testing Engineer at CEJN AB, underscores the significance of staying alert to swift technological shifts and rapid changes in a dynamic market. “While the coupling solutions under development meet today's requirements, it’s crucial to anticipate how tomorrow’s demands for next-generation data racks may necessitate increased cooling capacity, higher flow and lower pressure,” Ahlgren says. “The work within OCP has widened our understanding of what customers need, as well as our (CEJN) capabilities to meet specific non-standard demands and requests,” he concludes.

Dennis Ahlgren, Testing Engineer at CEJN, points out the importance of staying alert to swift technological shifts and rapid changes in the dynamic market of the data center industry.