Trane Technologies has expanded its data center thermal management portfolio with two 250 MW (approx. 853 million BTU/h) high-density AI factory reference designs based on the NVIDIA DSX AI Factory platform. The designs incorporate technologies from LiquidStack and Stellar Energy and provide zero-water-consumption cooling architectures.
Reference Design #506 combines direct-to-chip liquid cooling with Trane Ascend ACR air-cooled chillers featuring integrated free cooling. Designed for sites requiring rapid permitting and zero water consumption, the architecture delivers up to a 25% cooling efficiency improvement, can reallocate up to 22 MW (approx. 75 million BTU/h) of power to compute and improves annualized partial PUE from 1.201 to 1.083.
Reference Design #507 is Trane Technologies’ first reference design featuring Stellar Energy modular cooling plants. The pre-engineered, factory-built and UL-listed system combines Trane CenTraVac water-cooled chillers using low-GWP refrigerant with dry fluid coolers stacked above them. Closed-loop dry coolers provide a Water Usage Effectiveness of zero, while dual-temperature loops deliver up to a 16% chiller power improvement and reallocate 8 MW (approx. 27 million BTU/h) of electrical capacity to AI workloads. In temperate climates such as Chicago, integrated waterside economizers provide full free cooling for more than 98% of annual operating hours.
Both designs integrate the LiquidStack GigaModular Coolant Distribution Unit, which has qualified as an NVIDIA DSX Ready CDU. The unit provides scalable capacity up to 14 MW (approx. 48 million BTU/h) at a 4°C (7.2°F) approach and, according to Trane Technologies, achieves up to 20% lower capital expenditure than conventional row-based CDU installations.
“When Trane Technologies introduced the industry’s first comprehensive thermal management reference design for gigawatt-scale AI factories, we set a new standard for holistic system efficiency across compute, facilities and climate systems,” said Mauro J. Atalla, Senior Vice President and Chief Technology and Sustainability Officer, Trane Technologies. “With our latest designs, we are incorporating new technologies and improvements that help data center developers overcome skilled labor shortages, compress deployment timelines and reclaim critical power for AI factories.”
