TechUpdate: Solving the Heat Wall with 2-Phase Liquid Cooling

As AI workloads drive rack densities past 100 kW and chip power beyond 2,500 watts, the limits of traditional air and single-phase liquid cooling are being tested. In this episode of NextGenInfra, we speak with Richard Bonner of Accelsius, a startup developing a two-phase, direct-to-chip cooling system called NeuCool™. Accelsius is currently piloting its solution at the Equinix Co-Innovation Facility (CIF) in Ashburn. While the technology shows promise—especially in improving thermal efficiency, reducing pumping energy, and supporting high-density GPUs—it remains in the trial phase and has yet to be adopted at scale. Richard explains the physics behind two-phase cooling, compares it with conventional liquid systems, and outlines how their dielectric fluid allows for safer operation. He also discusses Accelsius’ involvement in the U.S. Department of Energy’s COOLERCHIPS program and what’s next for scaling the platform. ⸻ ⏱️ Chapters / Key Timestamps 00:00 – Intro: Why liquid cooling is back in the spotlight 00:24 – Accelsius’ NeuCool system at Equinix CIF 00:49 – Why air cooling no longer scales for AI compute 01:36 – What makes two-phase cooling different 02:52 – Boiling for better thermal uniformity and heat transfer 04:03 – Condensation and fluid recovery process 04:50 – Energy savings through higher inlet water temps and free cooling 06:25 – About the refrigerant-based fluid and operational safety 07:34 – Maintenance without HVAC-certified staff 08:20 – Adapting to diverse data center environments in trial deployments 09:16 – Participation in ARPA-E’s COOLERCHIPS initiative 10:53 – Meeting Equinix and joining its innovation program 11:26 – Product roadmap: Scaling to megawatt-class CDUs 12:38 – Toward next-gen data center rack architecture 13:25 – Wrap-up and outlook ⸻ 📎 Additional Resources • Accelsius Website • Equinix Co-Innovation Facility • ARPA-E COOLERCHIPS Program 🎯 Topics: #DataCenterCooling #LiquidCooling #AIInfrastructure #COOLERCHIPS #Equinix #TwoPhaseCooling #NeuCool #NextGenInfra ⸻