The Application of Pumps in Data Center Liquid Cooling Systems
The heart is the core organ of the human circulatory system. It pumps blood through vessels to every organ, circulating oxygen and nutrients throughout the body. Thus, cardiac health directly determines the survival and function of all organs. Similarly, if we compare a data center's liquid cooling system to a human body:
- The pump functions as the heart
- Coolant piping serves as blood vessels
- Coolant acts as blood
The pump circulates coolant through pipelines to heat-dissipating equipment across the system, making its critical role self-evident.
At present, more and more data center servers use liquid cooling technology for heat dissipation. Usually, liquid cooling water pump equipment such as vertical multi-stage centrifugal pumps, vertical pump frequency conversion systems, pipeline pumps, etc. are installed in the main room of the liquid cooling system of the data center, and water is transported to the cooling equipment in the server rack through water pipes. In the server rack, the liquid cooling water pump is connected to the radiator through a pipeline, and the hot water is circulated back to the main room of the liquid cooling system to complete the function of heat energy transfer and heat dissipation. The heat dissipation effect and stability of the liquid cooling system are directly related to the performance of the water pump. If the performance of the liquid cooling water pump is not good, it may lead to poor heat dissipation and even affect the normal operation of the server. At the same time, the stability of the liquid cooling water pump is also very important. Once the water pump fails, it may have a serious impact on the normal operation of the data center.
Cold plate liquid cooling system
In the cold plate liquid cooling system, the pump is mainly used in the rack and cabinet CDU and the heat exchanger behind it.
The pump is responsible for driving the coolant circulation in the CDU, maintaining the required flow and pressure, ensuring the heat is transferred from the IT equipment to the external cooling system, and improving the system reliability and energy efficiency through redundancy and intelligent control. The pump plays the role of "heart" in the CDU, directly determining the heat dissipation capacity, stability and energy efficiency level of the liquid cooling system. Its design needs to be highly matched with the coolant characteristics, pipeline layout and heat load requirements, and combined with intelligent control and redundancy mechanisms to ensure the safe and low-carbon operation of the data center.
Immersion cooling system
The pump of the immersion liquid cooling system is usually built into the CDU to simplify the system structure and improve reliability. External pumps are used in scenarios with ultra-large flow, special media or redundancy requirements, such as immersion in Bitcoin mines. The actual selection requires a comprehensive evaluation based on heat load, coolant type and operation and maintenance strategy.
Selection of Liquid Cooling Pump Brands
Currently, international brands dominate the liquid cooling pump market for data centers, with Grundfos, Wilo, and Xylem serving as primary representatives. These brands have participated extensively in large-scale projects across global data centers and liquid-cooled data centers. Among them, Grundfos pumps hold the highest involvement in global IDC liquid cooling projects, particularly demonstrating strong market penetration in North America.
However, the recent rise of the data center liquid cooling market has accelerated R&D efforts among Chinese pump manufacturers. Companies such as CNP (Southern Pump Industry) and MISLIER Pump Industry have successively launched liquid cooling pump products and begun participating in domestic liquid-cooled data center projects.
Grundfos
Company introduction: Grundfos was founded in Denmark in 1945. As a global professional supplier of water pumps and water pump system solutions, it provides a variety of high-quality water pump solutions for liquid-cooled data centers.
Main pump type: Grundfos smart pump, also known as E pump. Compared with traditional liquid cooling systems, Grundfos's water pumps are more convenient to debug. They can adjust the speed in real time according to changes in system load and optimize temperature control, eliminating the need for complex adjustments and calibrations of system valves. In addition, the E motor equipped with a frequency converter can balance the primary/secondary circuits, allowing the CDU to operate in constant temperature control mode and respond to any changes in working conditions in real time, thereby optimizing energy use and significantly reducing energy consumption.
Wilo
Company introduction: Wilo SE is a world-leading manufacturer of water pumps and water pump systems, headquartered in Dortmund, Germany. The company was founded in 1872. After 152 years of development, Wilo has more than 90 production and distribution companies around the world, with business covering all continents, more than 9,000 employees, and an annual output of more than 12 million water pumps. In 2023, Wilo's global sales reached 15.4 billion euros. In the data center industry, a few years ago, when data centers were still using air-cooled computer room air conditioners, Wilo had already begun to develop and launch products suitable for liquid cooling and continuously updated and iterated.
Main pump type: Wilo offers a series of high-efficiency pumps and intelligent systems designed to meet the demanding requirements of data center cooling. From circulating pumps for cooling towers to liquid cooling systems directly to chips. Wilo's fist products for liquid cooling in data centers are vertical, horizontal centrifugal pumps and shielded pumps, which can meet the pump needs of the primary side, secondary side and cdu of data centers. Horizontal centrifugal pumps can meet the needs of cabinet cdus of up to 700kw-2000kw.
Xylem
Company introduction: Xylem is a leading global water technology company committed to developing innovative technology solutions to meet the world's most demanding water resource challenges. The company's products and services focus on water transportation, water treatment, water testing, water monitoring and water reuse in municipal, industrial, civil and commercial buildings. In addition, Xylem also provides an excellent product portfolio for utilities such as water, electricity and natural gas, including smart metering, pipe network technology and advanced infrastructure analysis solutions. In 2024, the company's 23,000 diverse employees achieved a consolidated revenue of US$8.6 billion. Xylem is headquartered in Rye Brook, New York, and operates in more than 150 countries and regions around the world.
The company name Xylem is taken from ancient Greek, and its original meaning is the organization that transports water in plants. It implies the company's pursuit of water business and our commitment to using the world's best engineering technology comparable to nature's ability to transport water. Xylem (formerly ITT) Group Fluid Technology includes more than 20 brands including B&G, GOULDS, Lowara, Flygt, EVOQUA, WTW, etc.
Main pump type: B&G e1631 series end suction pump, used in primary side liquid cooling container, rack & cabinet CDU, etc.
cNP
Company introduction: Nanfang Pump Industry Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of China Gold Environment, is a state-owned holding company established in 1991 and headquartered in China. The company focuses on the research and development, manufacturing and sales of pump products and is one of the world's leading providers of energy-saving pumps and solutions.
Main pump types: High-efficiency chilled water and high-efficiency cooling water equipment TD, NIS, and NSC series to help high-efficiency computer room/data center cooling systems; Cooling tower coordination: Connect the cooling tower and the air-conditioning terminal through Nanfang Pump Industry's WLT/WLTS series cooling tower special pumps, use natural cold sources to dissipate heat, and reduce the energy consumption of cooling water circulation. With high-density adaptation, modular design, and energy-saving and low-carbon as core competitiveness, cold plate and immersion technologies are developed in parallel, covering a variety of scenarios from edge computing to supercomputing centers. Through the coordinated optimization of intelligent control, environmentally friendly coolant, and efficient heat exchange system, the liquid cooling pump system can support the data center PUE to drop below 1.2, meeting the efficient heat dissipation needs in the era of AI computing power explosion.
Mislier Pump
Shanghai MISLIER Pump Industry Co., Ltd. is a leading enterprise specializing in the integrated R&D, manufacturing, and global service of high-performance water pump systems. Founded in Shanghai in 2010, we have evolved through over a decade of technological innovation and market expertise into a vertically integrated solution provider for fluid handling challenges. Our commitment to engineering excellence drives continuous advancement in hydraulic efficiency and operational reliability.
Our comprehensive product portfolio includes vertical multistage pumps, intelligent booster systems, solar-powered units, horizontal process pumps, pipeline circulators, swimming pool pumps, and sewage lifting stations. These solutions serve critical applications across rural water supply, municipal infrastructure, construction and hydraulic engineering, and industrial manufacturing sectors. Supported by a 25-acre production base featuring Industry 4.0 capabilities-such as robotic welding cells, CNC precision machining centers, and automated assembly lines-we combine advanced manufacturing with a dedicated R&D team to deliver rigorously tested, certification-compliant products (CE/UL/CCC, ISO 9001).
MISLIER's core mission focuses on delivering lifecycle-optimized pumping solutions that prioritize energy efficiency, operational stability, and total cost of ownership. Through customized engineering support and responsive global service networks, we empower clients worldwide to achieve sustainable fluid management objectives while reducing environmental impact. From conceptual design to after-sales maintenance, our integrated approach ensures seamless project execution for partners across 30+ countries.
Main Recommended Products: Vertical Multistage Centrifugal Pumps, End Suction Pumps, Pipeline Pumps, High-voltage Variable Frequency Pumps, etc.
