The data centre cooling market is one of the fastest-growing segments of the global HVAC and infrastructure industry. Valued at approximately $19.5 billion in 2025, it is projected to reach $22.81 billion in 2026 alone — and analysts at DataM Intelligence forecast it growing to $45.8 billion by 2033 at a compound annual growth rate of approximately 17%.

To put those numbers in context: 17% annual growth sustained over eight years more than doubles a market. The companies that establish dominant positions in data centre cooling in 2026 are building franchises that will generate outsized returns for a decade. The HVAC industry is in the middle of one of the most significant market opportunity expansions it has ever seen — and not every player is moving fast enough to capture it.

The Market Size Numbers Explained

DataM Intelligence's market sizing methodology for data centre cooling includes all thermal management solutions deployed within or in direct service of data centre facilities: precision air conditioning, chilled water plants, cooling towers, liquid cooling infrastructure (CDUs, rear-door heat exchangers, immersion tanks), and associated control systems.

The 2025 to 2026 step-up — from $19.5 billion to $22.81 billion — represents approximately $3.3 billion in new market value in a single year. That rate of growth, if sustained, means the market adds roughly the equivalent of a mid-sized HVAC company's entire revenue every week in new demand.

The global data centre cooling market was valued at approximately $19.5 billion in 2025 and is projected to reach $22.81 billion in 2026 and $45.8 billion by 2033, growing at a compound annual growth rate of approximately 17%, according to DataM Intelligence — driven primarily by AI infrastructure investment.

What's Driving 17% Annual Growth

Three forces are compounding to drive data centre cooling demand at this rate:

• AI infrastructure investment: The six largest US hyperscalers — Amazon, Microsoft, Google, Meta, Apple, and Oracle — are projected by Bloomberg Intelligence to spend more than $593 billion in capital expenditure in 2026 alone, up 45% from 2025. A significant and growing portion of that capex is directed at computing infrastructure that requires thermal management. AI training and inference workloads are the primary demand driver.

• Rack density escalation: The heat density per rack in new data centre deployments is increasing faster than conventional cooling infrastructure can scale. Each generation of AI accelerator hardware draws more power and generates more heat than the last. This forces data centre operators to invest in more sophisticated cooling solutions even without building additional capacity.

• Energy efficiency mandates: Governments in the US, EU, and increasingly Asia-Pacific are imposing or incentivising energy efficiency requirements on data centres. The most straightforward path to improving PUE is investing in more efficient cooling infrastructure — which drives demand for advanced products even in existing facilities.

The Key Players: Vertiv, Mitsubishi, Daikin Applied

The data centre cooling market has a clear established leader and a competitive group of challengers from the HVAC industry:

• Vertiv Holdings: The dominant specialised data centre infrastructure company with deep hyperscaler relationships, a comprehensive product portfolio from precision air cooling through liquid cooling, and a global service network that no single HVAC competitor has yet replicated. Vertiv's revenue has grown consistently with data centre demand and its stock performance reflects the market's recognition of its positioning.

• Mitsubishi Electric: A major commercial HVAC manufacturer with precision cooling and chilled water plant capabilities that transfer directly to data centre applications. Mitsubishi has been active in data centre cooling in Europe and Asia and is expanding its North American presence.

• Daikin Applied: Daikin Applied opened a new modular manufacturing facility in January 2026 specifically to scale production capacity for large-tonnage data centre cooling systems. This is a material capital investment that signals long-term commitment to the market.

• Schneider Electric: A building infrastructure and energy management company with a comprehensive data centre portfolio including cooling, power, and management systems. Schneider's EcoStruxure platform integrates cooling management with broader facility systems.

• LG Electronics: Announced its expanded data centre cooling portfolio at Data Center World 2026, including a new coolant distribution unit for direct-to-chip applications.

HVAC Companies Entering the Data Center Space

Beyond the established players, the growth of the data centre cooling market is attracting HVAC manufacturers that have historically focused on commercial building climate control:

JohnsonMarCraft's DataCool division launched three new product lines in April 2026 — the Alpine, Glacier, and Kodiak series — specifically targeting AI data centre applications. This follows a pattern of traditional HVAC manufacturers launching dedicated data centre divisions rather than treating data centre work as an extension of their existing commercial product lines.

The dedicated division approach signals an important strategic recognition: data centre customers have different buying processes, different technical requirements, and different relationship dynamics than traditional commercial building owners. Serving them effectively requires dedicated engineering, sales, and service capability — not just adapted commercial HVAC products.

For HVAC contractors with commercial capabilities, this proliferation of manufacturer offerings is positive — it means more qualified products and more manufacturer support for data centre work than was available even two years ago.

The Liquid Cooling vs Air Cooling Transition

One of the most consequential technology questions in the data centre cooling market is how quickly the industry transitions from predominantly air-cooled to predominantly liquid-cooled infrastructure. The answer affects which products grow fastest, which companies benefit most, and what skills data centre-focused HVAC contractors need to develop.

The current state of the market reflects a hybrid reality. The majority of existing data centre infrastructure is air-cooled and will remain so for years — the installed base is enormous and the upgrade cycle is measured in decades. New AI-focused deployments, however, are increasingly liquid-cooled from the start. The market is bifurcating, with traditional precision air cooling continuing to serve the legacy installed base while liquid cooling captures the growth in new AI infrastructure.

For HVAC companies and contractors, this means the opportunity is not one or the other — it is both. Maintaining and upgrading existing air-cooled data centre infrastructure while also developing liquid cooling capability positions a business to capture the full market rather than betting on a single technology direction.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the data center cooling market size in 2026?

The global data centre cooling market is projected to reach approximately $22.81 billion in 2026, up from $19.5 billion in 2025 — growing at a compound annual growth rate of approximately 17%, according to DataM Intelligence. The market is forecast to reach $45.8 billion by 2033.

Who are the biggest companies in data center cooling?

The dominant player is Vertiv Holdings, which specialises exclusively in data centre infrastructure including cooling, power, and management systems. Other major players include Schneider Electric, Mitsubishi Electric, Daikin Applied, LG Electronics, and a growing list of traditional HVAC manufacturers entering the market with dedicated product lines.

Why is the data center cooling market growing so fast?

The primary driver is AI infrastructure investment. Hyperscalers are projected to spend more than $593 billion in capex in 2026, with cooling representing a critical and growing share. Secondary drivers include escalating rack heat densities that require more sophisticated cooling and government energy efficiency mandates that incentivise cooling infrastructure upgrades.

What cooling technology is used in AI data centers?

AI data centres use a combination of precision air conditioning, chilled water cooling, rear-door heat exchangers, coolant distribution units, and increasingly direct-to-chip liquid cooling and immersion cooling. The trend is toward liquid cooling for the highest-density AI GPU deployments, while air cooling continues to serve lower-density infrastructure.