Schneider Electric says AI Water Waste is a Choice

Is heavy water consumption an inevitable by product of the AI revolution, or simply a design choice? 

Industry leaders at Schneider Electric argue the latter, demonstrating how next-generation closed-loop liquid cooling can support massive AI workloads while drastically reducing reliance on local water supplies. 

“Zero water is needed to cool AI data centres,” said Tuan Hoang, Head of Cooling Technology and Product Development at Schneider Electric, speaking to journalists in Buffalo, New York, at the Schneider Electric & TeraWulf Global Press Event.

His comments arrive amid heightened scrutiny of Gen AI’s environmental footprint, particularly around localised water scarcity. 

Tuan drew a sharp distinction between liquid cooling and water consumption, stressing that the former is about efficiently moving heat away from high-density IT loads – not necessarily evaporating or discharging water onsite.

“Water consumption for data centres is a choice,” he said. “It’s a geographical choice dependent on power, land and what is required.” 

By contrast, for racks pushing 400kW, liquid cooling is no longer optional. 

“Liquid cooling is required but it’s for the load and radiators,” said Tuan. 

Projecting water consumption reduction

To illustrate the impact of liquid cooling, Schneider Electric presented two theoretical case studies comparing traditional air-cooled designs with liquid-cooled approaches in Dallas, Texas, and Paris, France. 

The projections suggest roughly a 50% reduction in annual water use after transitioning to liquid cooling:

• Dallas: from 382,000 cubic meters per year (air-cooled) to 197,000 cubic meters (liquid-cooled), representing a 48% reduction.
• Paris: from 108,000 cubic meters to 51,000 cubic meters, representing a 53% reduction.
  

“It’s a choice to how you reject the heat, and the myth that all data centres with liquid cooling are using lots of water isn’t true,” Tuan said. “We focus on high-efficiency chilling.”

One example is Schneider Electric’s Uniflair XCA, a pre-engineered, air-cooled chiller line designed for data centres. 

“It does not use water, just radiates heat out,” Tuan noted. 

Each unit delivers continuous cooling up to 2.4MW, supports fast restarts and offers dual-feed power redundancy. 

The systems rely on a closed-loop, factory-sealed volume of high-quality cooling fluid – tested in Motivair factories – designed to last the life of the data centre without evaporation or discharge.

Motivair and liquid cooling

Liquid cooling’s role is quickly becoming non-negotiable for AI-scale densities, said Rich Whitmore, CEO of Motivair by Schneider Electric:

“Liquid cooling has been around since the 1980s but now it isn’t an option, it’s mandatory. People don’t have a choice – if you want advanced AI systems going in, you have to cool them.”

Framed this way, implementing closed-loop liquid cooling – paired with air-cooled heat rejection – becomes less about water consumption and more about thermal efficiency. 

For operators planning AI buildouts, it offers a path to high-density performance while substantially reducing reliance on external water supplies.