■ Signed an MOU to propel the data center liquid immersion cooling (LIC) business

■ Aim to expand the LIC market by securing reliability and establishing a global supply chain

■ SK Enmove CEO Park Sang-kyu affirms that by fostering LIC technology in the thermal management market, the company will become a leader in improving electrical energy efficiency

SK Enmove joins hands with global IT companies to expedite the commercialization of liquid immersion cooling (LIC) technology for data centers.

On August 23, SK Enmove announced that it entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Dell Technologies, a global leading company with expertise in PC manufacturing and IT solutions, and GRC, a US-based firm specializing in data centers for LIC systems. This MOU aims to drive the growth of data centers for LIC businesses. The MOU signing event was held during the DELL Tech Forum, in COEX, Gangnam-gu, Seoul and was attended by key figures of the companies, including SK Enmove CEO Park Sang-kyu, Dell Technologies President of Asia Pacific and Japan Peter Marrs, and GRC CEO Peter Poulin.

Through this agreement, the three companies will develop technology to meet the growing demand for data centers of LIC systems and establish an after-sale service (AS) market. Their objective is to secure reliability in the nascent market of LIC technology and jointly build a supply chain within key demand regions, thereby enhancing their influence in the LIC market.

In accordance with this common goal, SK Enmove will be in charge of developing specialized cooling fluids for LIC systems by utilizing the company’s high-quality lube base oil. DELL and GRC, on the other hand, will take charge of LIC dedicated servers and cooling systems respectively, to cooperate in developing technology and components for standardization of the LIC systems. All three companies will jointly push forward with promotion and sales activities for the commercialization of the LIC market in order to secure global customers.

Data center LIC technology is a next-generation thermal management technology that directly submerges data servers into cooling fluids, enhancing cooling efficiency significantly. Compared to existing air-cooling methods, this technique is receiving the limelight for its superior cooling efficiency and ability to enhance the efficiency of data centers. According to the global market research firm Future Market Insights, the global LIC market is projected to grow at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 21.5%, increasing from approximately USD 330 million in 2022 to roughly USD 2.1 billion by 2032.

(*)Air-cooling method: A cooling technique that circulates low-temperature air in the data center server rooms or installs fans for cooling.

Last year, SK Enmove made an equity investment worth USD 25 million in GRC and has been participating in collaborative partnership programs to develop data centers for LIC systems.

The company’s future plans include the expansion of its business scope to encompass energy storage systems (ESS) and thermal management solutions for electric vehicle batteries, aiming to become a comprehensive provider of thermal management solutions.

Peter Marrs, Dell Technologies President of the Asia Pacific and Japan, highlighted the increasing importance of establishing a sustainable environment within data centers and conveyed his deep appreciation for forming partnerships with specialized companies in the LIC market.

Peter Poulin, CEO of GRC, expressed his enthusiasm for collaborating with SK Enmove and Dell Technologies, emphasizing that data center LIC systems will enhance energy efficiency in growing data centers driven by AI and machine learning. This will also be more frugal and have an environmental impact

From SK Enmove’s side, CEO Park Sang-kyu acknowledged the rapid rise in the demand for thermal management solutions, particularly in areas related to electrical energy usage, such as data centers. He affirmed that through this collaboration, SK Enmove aims to contribute to the activation of the LIC market and energy efficiency in electrical energy consumption.

[Photos] SK Enmove CEO Park Sang-kyu (left in Photo 1, second from left in Photo 2), Dell Technologies President of the Asia Pacific and Japan Peter Marrs (center in Photo 1, third from left in Photo 2), and GRC CEO Peter Poulin (right in Photo 1, third from right in Photo 2), and other officials of each company participated in a data center LIC event at the Dell Technologies Forum in COEX, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, on August 22. The event included the signing of an MOU for the project’s promotion.