The announcement from Motivair by Schneider Electric regarding the launch of two new Coolant Distribution Units (CDUs): the MCDU-45 and MCDU-55, is a significant development that we believe directly addresses a critical, often-overlooked pain point in the Age of AI: where to put the cooling infrastructure. These new models are the company’s first purpose-built CDUs optimized for deployment outside the white space, primarily in utility corridors. This design choice grants data center operators unprecedented flexibility to meet the soaring thermal demands of HPC and AI workloads.
This product expansion, to us, warrants a direct response to the evolution of liquid cooling driven by GPU density. As computing power per rack rises dramatically (often exceeding 100 kW), the need for larger, more powerful CDUs increases. Placing these units in the main server floor becomes impractical and costly. We think that the ability to deploy CDUs in utility corridors, a key feature of the MCDU-45 and MCDU-55, is now essential. This capability allows operators to optimize space, freeing up valuable white space for more revenue-generating AI racks.
It also simplifies maintenance by enabling service access without interrupting critical AI workload operations, and it enhances integration by leveraging a wider range of chilled water temperatures, which improves system-wide energy efficiency and lowers PUE. This focus on deployment flexibility, rather than just sheer capacity, is our key takeaway from this announcement.
The launch, marking the first new products since Schneider Electric’s acquisition of Motivair in February 2025, highlights the accelerated urgency in the liquid cooling market. The combined entity now offers a complete, end-to-end liquid cooling portfolio. We believe this enhanced portfolio is vital for two reasons.
Firstly, for Seamless Scalability, as the full range of CDUs supports advanced thermal management strategies, enabling precise flow control and adaptive load balancing. This is crucial for optimizing chiller plant performance and reducing overall energy consumption across the entire facility.
Secondly, for Market Confidence, as Rich Whitmore, CEO of Motivair, stated the goal is to deliver solutions that “adapt to any HPC, AI or advanced data center deployment.”
Overall, we thinke that the combined expertise and global reach of Schneider Electric backing Motivair’s proven technology gives operators the confidence needed to make multi-million dollar investments in complex liquid cooling architectures. The MCDU-45 and MCDU-55 are set to ramp up production in early 2026, signaling the speed with which the industry is mobilizing to meet the explosive, high-density demands of the AI era.
