Nvidia has unveiled a warm-water cooling system it says can eliminate virtually all water consumption inside AI data centres, with chief sustainability officer Josh Parker telling Axios that the water consumption challenge for data centres is largely solved. The system circulates coolant in a closed loop at 45°C through server racks, emerging at 55°C and dissipating heat via passive radiators without evaporative cooling or fans, meaning no new water is consumed on-site once the system is filled.
The technical achievement at the facility level appears genuine. In favourable climates, Nvidia says the approach can deliver a 100% reduction in on-site water use, while also improving energy efficiency and reducing noise.
However, the company’s accounting draws a boundary around the data centre walls and excludes the water consumed by the power plants supplying electricity. Research suggests that off-site water consumption from electricity generation and chip manufacturing can double or triple a facility’s total water footprint, meaning Nvidia’s solution may address only a quarter to a third of AI data centres’ actual water impact.
The scale of the omission is significant. Natural gas power plants consume 1.17 litres of water per kilowatt-hour generated, while coal plants use 2.2 litres. Fossil fuels currently supply roughly half of all data centre power globally, according to the International Energy Agency, which projects natural gas and coal will account for more than 40% of new electricity needed to meet data centre demand through 2030. Wind and solar, by contrast, use negligible amounts of water. Without a shift in the energy mix powering AI infrastructure, the broader water footprint of data centres will remain substantial regardless of what happens inside the building.
