Schneider Electric acquires $850m controlling interest in liquid cooling specialist Motivair

Schneider Electric has purchased the majority stake in Motivair Corporation, a specialist in liquid cooling and thermal management technologies for high-performance computing (HPC) systems. The deal, valued at $850 million, gives Schneider a 75 percent stake in Motivair, with plans to acquire the remaining 25 percent by 2028.

This acquisition is part of Schneider Electric’s broader strategy to expand its energy management portfolio, particularly in the growing market for liquid cooling solutions. According to Digital Reality, cooling currently accounts for approximately 40 percent of the power needed to run a data center. This percentage is expected to rise as AI workloads grow, with Goldman Sachs predicting a 160 percent increase in the power demands of data centers by 2030.

Headquartered in France, Schneider Electric has long been a significant player in the data center market, offering electrical distribution systems, uninterruptible power supplies (UPS), racks, and enclosures.

While liquid cooling technology has been around for some time, Schneider sees its application in data centers as a "nascent market" with significant growth potential. The rising power requirements driven by emerging technologies such as generative AI and large language models (LLMs) are fueling the demand for more advanced cooling solutions.

Schneider Electric highlighted the critical role liquid cooling will play in the future of data centers, especially as traditional air cooling systems struggle to keep up with the increased heat generated by high-density server farms. "This shift to accelerated computing is resulting in new data center architectures requiring more efficient cooling solutions, particularly liquid cooling, as traditional air cooling alone cannot mitigate the higher heat generated as a result," the company stated.

Motivair, based in Buffalo, New York, has a long history of outfitting supercomputers with liquid cooling technology. Motivair’s President and CEO, Rich Whitmore, believes the acquisition will enable the company to scale its operations and invest in the development of new technologies. "This partnership with Schneider Electric gives us the resources to accelerate our innovation and better serve the growing demand for advanced cooling solutions," Whitmore said.

Schneider’s Energy Management division, which already offers direct-to-chip liquid cooling and thermal technologies, will absorb Motivair’s operations. The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions, including regulatory approvals, and is expected to be finalized in the coming quarters.