Nvidia unveils liquid‑cooling design to cut data‑center water use

Nvidia announced a new "Rubin" generation reference design for AI data centers that uses a fully liquid‑cooled system operating at temperatures up to 45 °C (113 °F). The company claims the design eliminates "massive amounts of power usage and pretty much all water usage," reducing on‑site water consumption from roughly 2.6 million gallons per megawatt‑year to near zero – a reduction of up to 100 %.

The closed‑loop coolant, composed of three‑quarters water and one‑quarter propylene glycol, is filled once at installation and recirculated for the life of the facility, removing the need for traditional evaporative cooling towers and fans. Nvidia says the higher operating temperature can also cut energy costs, with a one‑degree increase potentially lowering power use by about 4 %.

Critics note that the water‑saving claim only covers direct cooling inside the data‑center. Indirect water use from electricity generation and chip manufacturing remains significant, especially when power is sourced from fossil‑fuel plants that consume large volumes of water. As a result, the overall water footprint of AI data centers may only be reduced by a quarter to a third. Elon Musk has publicly backed Nvidia’s technology, emphasizing its role in countering narratives that AI growth drains local water supplies. The design is seen as a step toward more efficient data‑center operations, but broader environmental impact depends on the energy mix powering these facilities.