Author: Sumati Sahgal – VP, Data Centre & Secure Power, Greater India
India’s data centre capacity is expanding rapidly, with forecasts indicating 7 GW or more by 2030 as higher-density GPU deployments are driving faster demand for liquid-cooled infrastructure.
Data centre provider teams assessing liquid-cooling suppliers in India may wonder: Where will the CDUs and other essential equipment be obtained? Who will handle the integration and commissioning of the thermal system? Will spare parts, fluids, and expert service support be accessible after the system goes live?
Operators and their ecosystem partners must assess the entire delivery process, covering sourcing, system integration, commissioning, spares, and lifecycle support.
Liquid-cooling suppliers in India are becoming more local
India’s liquid-cooling supply chain has historically depended on imported equipment, but this is starting to shift as international manufacturers and local Indian experts grow their domestic production capabilities.
Schneider Electric has opened a new liquid cooling manufacturing plant in Bengaluru, marking its third worldwide after the United States and Italy. This facility manufactures coolant distribution units (CDUs), direct-to-chip hardware, and solutions like rear door heat exchangers (RDHx).
Building a stronger domestic supply base can lessen reliance on an import-driven approach and decrease vulnerability to international logistics and customs issues. Nevertheless, lead times will differ depending on the project and equipment.
Sourcing the thermal system is now more important than sourcing individual components
This also raises expectations of liquid-cooling suppliers in India. Buyers increasingly need more than access to components: they need an integrated thermal architecture and support during commissioning and operation.
Direct-to-chip cooling involves cold plates that remove heat from high-power components like GPUs and CPUs. Meanwhile, CDUs circulate coolant and transfer heat to the facility side. Depending on the setup, Uniflair chillers, heat dissipation units (HDUs), or hybrid systems with rear door heat exchangers may be incorporated into the heat removal process. This integrated thermal pathway is known as the “chip-to-chiller” approach.
The interfaces between those components deserve as much scrutiny as the components’ individual specifications. Facility-water conditions, flow and pressure requirements, coolant compatibility, piping, controls, redundancy, and server requirements must all work together.
When equipment from multiple suppliers operates as a single thermal system, teams need to define ownership of each interface and determine who resolves problems that span vendor boundaries. This becomes more important as accelerated computing pushes rack densities higher. For example, NVIDIA’s Vera Rubin enables AI workloads to reach up to 227 kW per rack, making decisions across the chip, rack, cooling plant, controls, and power infrastructure increasingly interconnected.
Buyers in India comparing liquid cooling suppliers should evaluate the overall thermal system performance, rather than focusing solely on individual components.
Commissioning might be the most difficult resource to obtain
Getting liquid cooling equipment on site is only one milestone. Thermal systems must be tested under the conditions they are expected to encounter in operation before a high-density environment goes into production.
Liquid cooling commissioning involves pre-functional checks, flushing and cleaning validation, hydro and pressure testing, functional performance testing, and integrated systems testing, which may include scenarios like pump or chiller failures. Fluid systems also require filling procedures, sampling, filtration, and monitoring coolant quality.
This work transcends conventional equipment boundaries. CDUs and liquid loops must be validated together with pumps, chillers, controls, redundancy strategies, and other facility infrastructure, highlighting the importance of qualified commissioning expertise as a vital part of the supply chain.
India is still developing a large pool of specialist talent. By 2030, India’s data centre industry is expected to need nearly 100,000 skilled professionals, including many Liquid Cooling Engineers, as these infrastructure roles are anticipated to be in high demand.
For teams evaluating liquid-cooling suppliers in India, commissioning capability should be assessed alongside hardware availability. Buyers should clarify who owns testing and fluid quality, confirm whether qualified technicians will be available when needed, and define how responsibility transfers to site operations after acceptance.
Schneider Electric’s comprehensive liquid cooling portfolio integrates thermal architecture with deployment, commissioning, and lifecycle support, easing the organizational seams teams need to manage from specification to operation.
Spares, fluids, and service are critical to post-go-live performance
Once a facility begins operating, operators need to oversee spare parts, coolant quality, maintenance activities, technician availability, and response times for service.
Liquid-cooled infrastructure involves fluid circuits and consumables that need particular maintenance. Lifecycle considerations include coolant compatibility, sampling, filtration, and replacement. Additionally, India’s expanding fluids ecosystem now features both local and international suppliers for liquid-cooling solutions.
Operators may ask: Which critical spares are stocked in India? How quickly can they be delivered to the site? Who is qualified to install them? Who owns an issue that spans supplier boundaries?
These decisions should be made before the handover. Teams need a critical-spares strategy, coolant and fluid management responsibilities, replenishment and escalation processes, and clarity on who will maintain the system.
The availability of expert skills is also essential. India’s growing liquid cooling workforce comprises roles like CDU technicians, fluid-circuit engineers, leak-detection specialists, and commissioning specialists. This expertise usually goes beyond traditional MEP training.
A practical checklist for assessing liquid cooling providers in India
Six questions can help move supplier evaluation beyond individual equipment specifications:
- Source: Where will the equipment come from?
Identify where critical equipment is manufactured and stocked, and which components still depend on international supply chains. - System: Who owns the complete thermal architecture?
Identify how direct-to-chip cooling, CDUs, facility cooling, controls, and heat rejection will coordinate, and specify responsibilities at each interface. - Standards: Which requirements apply?
Account for relevant frameworks such as ASHRAE TC 9.9, OCP, ASME, and TIA-942. For India, confirm whether specific equipment is subject to mandatory BIS certification or to an applicable Quality Control Order. - Commissioning: Who gets the system to acceptance?
Define responsibility for Factory Acceptance Tests/Site Acceptance Tests, flushing, fluid-quality validation, functional and integrated testing, documentation, and handover. - Spares: What happens when something needs replacing?
Establish critical-spares requirements, including where parts are stocked, replenishment paths, and coolant or other consumable needs. - Service: Who owns the system after handover?
Confirm technician availability, maintenance responsibilities, training, escalation paths, and lifecycle support.
Prioritizing lifecycle delivery over day-one capacity
India’s liquid cooling supply chain is deepening and gaining local presence. However, data centre operators should not treat the rising number of liquid cooling suppliers in India as a simple component comparison.
Supplier readiness depends on whether the complete thermal system can be sourced, integrated, commissioned, maintained, and supported after go-live. As rack densities increase, the interfaces between those responsibilities become increasingly important.
Schneider Electric offers specialised liquid cooling solutions along with a comprehensive portfolio and extensive expertise in facility cooling, power, commissioning, and lifecycle services.
Schneider Electric’s Liquid Cooling Hub offers detailed insights into comprehensive direct-to-chip architectures, covering CDU and HDU options, along with retrofit and greenfield planning advice. To learn how to choose and design the most suitable system for your facility, download the Liquid Cooling System Architecture Guide.
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