# Data Center Thermal Management Market > Data Center Thermal Management Market: USD 42.27 billion in 2026, USD 119.44 billion by 2035, 13.20% CAGR from 2025, led by liquid-cooled AI racks. Publisher: DC Market Insights Author: Amit Jain, DC Market Insights Published: 2025-12-09 Last updated: 2026-10-18 Next review: Apr 2027 Page: https://www.dcmarketinsights.com/report/data-center-thermal-management-market ## Key takeaways - Grid Limits Slow the Build Cohort **Frequently Asked Questions** **What is the size of the Data Center Thermal Management Market in 2026?** USD 42.27 billion in 2026, up 22.32% from USD 34.56 billion in 2025, according to DC Market Insights estimates. The market is projected to reach USD 119.44 billion by 2035, a CAGR of 13.20% from 2025, as liquid-cooled AI halls add cooling plant per MW. **How fast is the Data Center Thermal Management Market growing?** 13.20% a year from 2025 to 2035 in the DC Market Insights base case, after 21.96% a year from 2020 to 2025. The low and high cases give 11.23% and 14.51%, driven mainly by how many MW of data center capacity reach completion. **What is data center thermal management?** USD 2.14 million per MW of new IT load in 2025 buys the equipment, controls and services that keep servers within their temperature limits: air handlers, chillers, cooling towers, dry coolers, coolant distribution units, cold-plate loops, immersion tanks, monitoring software, maintenance and retrofits. **Which segment of data center thermal management grows fastest?** Liquid cooling systems grow fastest at 24.31% a year, from USD 4.16 billion in 2025 to USD 36.64 billion in 2035, because racks above 50 kW need coolant at the chip. Air-side cooling stays the largest 2025 line at USD 12.19 billion. **How much does data center thermal management cost per MW?** About USD 2.14 million per MW of new IT load in 2025, including installation, rising to USD 3.54 million by 2035, plus about USD 55,000 per installed MW a year for maintenance and retrofit (DC Market Insights estimates). An air-cooled hall costs about USD 1.75 million per MW and a chilled-water direct-to-chip AI hall about USD 2.55 million. **Which region grows fastest in data center thermal management?** The Middle East and Africa grows fastest at 17.08% a year to USD 8.36 billion by 2035, because Gulf AI campuses combine hot, dry climates with high-density racks. North America remains the largest region with 45.0% of 2025 value. **Who are the leading data center thermal management companies?** About 13% of 2025 value goes to Vertiv, the leader, and about 45% to the top five suppliers (DC Market Insights assessment). Other major players include Schneider Electric, Johnson Controls, Trane Technologies, Carrier, Daikin, Stulz, Mitsubishi Electric, LG Electronics and Modine. **Why do Data Center Thermal Management Market estimates differ?** USD 42.27 billion in 2026 is the DC Market Insights figure because it counts equipment, installation, controls software and services. Equipment-only views, such as Daikin's JPY 1.1 trillion for 2025, are smaller, while views that add server heat sinks or cooling electricity are larger. **What does a data hall thermal management consultant do?** About 6% of new-build thermal spend, or about USD 1.66 billion in 2025, goes to design, computational fluid dynamics (CFD) modelling and commissioning (DC Market Insights estimate). A consultant models airflow and water temperatures, sizes coolant distribution units and heat rejection, and tests the plant under load. **How much of data center cooling is liquid cooling?** 12.0% of thermal management value in 2025, or USD 4.16 billion, rising to 30.7% by 2035 (DC Market Insights estimate). NVIDIA states its Rubin generation is the first to run 100% liquid cooled, so most new AI halls now include coolant distribution units and cold-plate loops. **What is the Data Center Thermal Management Market forecast for 2030?** USD 76.09 billion in 2030, according to DC Market Insights. That sits between USD 42.27 billion in 2026 and USD 119.44 billion in 2035, on a base-case CAGR of 13.20% from 2025 to 2035. **How big was the Data Center Thermal Management Market in 2020?** USD 12.81 billion in 2020, rising to USD 34.56 billion in 2025. Spending grew 21.96% a year over that period, because the annual build cohort doubled from 6.5 GW to 12.95 GW. **What is excluded from data center thermal management market size?** Electricity used by cooling, water bills, server fans and heat sinks built into IT equipment, comfort cooling of offices, power equipment, and refrigerant sold separately from equipment are excluded. Cooling equipment, installation, controls software and services are included. ## Dataset | Series | Value | Unit | | --- | --- | --- | | Market size 2025 | 34,560 | USD million | | Revenue CAGR | 13.2 | % | | Market size 2035 | 119,440 | USD million | ## Frequently asked questions ### What is the size of the Data Center Thermal Management Market in 2026? USD 42.27 billion in 2026, up 22.32% from USD 34.56 billion in 2025, according to DC Market Insights estimates. The market is projected to reach USD 119.44 billion by 2035, a CAGR of 13.20% from 2025, as liquid-cooled AI halls add cooling plant per MW. ### How fast is the Data Center Thermal Management Market growing? 13.20% a year from 2025 to 2035 in the DC Market Insights base case, after 21.96% a year from 2020 to 2025. The low and high cases give 11.23% and 14.51%, driven mainly by how many MW of data center capacity reach completion. ### What is data center thermal management? USD 2.14 million per MW of new IT load in 2025 buys the equipment, controls and services that keep servers within their temperature limits: air handlers, chillers, cooling towers, dry coolers, coolant distribution units, cold-plate loops, immersion tanks, monitoring software, maintenance and retrofits. ### Which segment of data center thermal management grows fastest? Liquid cooling systems grow fastest at 24.31% a year, from USD 4.16 billion in 2025 to USD 36.64 billion in 2035, because racks above 50 kW need coolant at the chip. Air-side cooling stays the largest 2025 line at USD 12.19 billion. ### How much does data center thermal management cost per MW? About USD 2.14 million per MW of new IT load in 2025, including installation, rising to USD 3.54 million by 2035, plus about USD 55,000 per installed MW a year for maintenance and retrofit (DC Market Insights estimates). An air-cooled hall costs about USD 1.75 million per MW and a chilled-water direct-to-chip AI hall about USD 2.55 million. ### Which region grows fastest in data center thermal management? The Middle East and Africa grows fastest at 17.08% a year to USD 8.36 billion by 2035, because Gulf AI campuses combine hot, dry climates with high-density racks. North America remains the largest region with 45.0% of 2025 value. ### Who are the leading data center thermal management companies? About 13% of 2025 value goes to Vertiv, the leader, and about 45% to the top five suppliers (DC Market Insights assessment). Other major players include Schneider Electric, Johnson Controls, Trane Technologies, Carrier, Daikin, Stulz, Mitsubishi Electric, LG Electronics and Modine. ### Why do Data Center Thermal Management Market estimates differ? USD 42.27 billion in 2026 is the DC Market Insights figure because it counts equipment, installation, controls software and services. Equipment-only views, such as Daikin's JPY 1.1 trillion for 2025, are smaller, while views that add server heat sinks or cooling electricity are larger. ### What does a data hall thermal management consultant do? About 6% of new-build thermal spend, or about USD 1.66 billion in 2025, goes to design, computational fluid dynamics (CFD) modelling and commissioning (DC Market Insights estimate). A consultant models airflow and water temperatures, sizes coolant distribution units and heat rejection, and tests the plant under load. ### How much of data center cooling is liquid cooling? 12.0% of thermal management value in 2025, or USD 4.16 billion, rising to 30.7% by 2035 (DC Market Insights estimate). NVIDIA states its Rubin generation is the first to run 100% liquid cooled, so most new AI halls now include coolant distribution units and cold-plate loops. ### What is the Data Center Thermal Management Market forecast for 2030? USD 76.09 billion in 2030, according to DC Market Insights. That sits between USD 42.27 billion in 2026 and USD 119.44 billion in 2035, on a base-case CAGR of 13.20% from 2025 to 2035. ### How big was the Data Center Thermal Management Market in 2020? USD 12.81 billion in 2020, rising to USD 34.56 billion in 2025. Spending grew 21.96% a year over that period, because the annual build cohort doubled from 6.5 GW to 12.95 GW. ### What is excluded from data center thermal management market size? Electricity used by cooling, water bills, server fans and heat sinks built into IT equipment, comfort cooling of offices, power equipment, and refrigerant sold separately from equipment are excluded. Cooling equipment, installation, controls software and services are included. ## How to cite Data Center Market Research & Consulting | DC Market Insights, "Data Center Thermal Management Market", updated 2026-10-18, https://www.dcmarketinsights.com/report/data-center-thermal-management-market