Nidec has developed a prototype of its next-generation "STC 1.0" liquid cooling system, designed to increase data center design flexibility through the stackability of OCP-compliant units.
The system allows up to five CDUs to be stacked in a rack to match the thermal load characteristics of the installed servers. According to Nidec, this provides a cooling capacity of up to 1 MW (approximately 3.41 million BTU/h), supporting configurations for containerized data centers and large facilities.
The company also claims that the flexible rack configuration supports high-performance cooling needs up to eight levels and a maximum of 1.6 MW (approximately 5.46 million BTU/h). CDU stands for Cooling Distribution Unit.
Each unit in the stack is independently configured to ensure system reliability and facilitate maintenance. A redundant CDU configuration allows for maintenance without powering down the servers.
Nidec stated that prototype exhibitions will be used to gather feedback from data center operators and server manufacturers as development progresses toward commercial release.
The product is scheduled to be unveiled at Interop Tokyo 2026 in Chiba, Japan, and IDCExpo 2026 in Shanghai, China, in June 2026.
