Trane Technologies is making a decisive move to dominate thermal management in modern data centers. Reuters reports the company has signed a definitive agreement to acquire LiquidStack, a leading developer of high-density liquid-cooling solutions. The acquisition positions Trane to deliver fully integrated cooling solutions capable of supporting next-generation AI workloads and hyperscale compute infrastructure.
Pioneering Liquid Cooling for High-Performance Chips
LiquidStack has developed liquid-cooling technologies tailored for rising chip power and heat density. Its portfolio, including high-density liquid cooling, direct-to-chip cooling, and immersion cooling boosts both performance and energy efficiency in high-performance compute environments. In 2018, LiquidStack introduced the first immersion-cooled hyperscale data center, later recognized as Hong Kong’s most energy-efficient facility.
Extending Thermal Management Across the Data Center Stack
The acquisition strengthens Trane’s end-to-end thermal coverage, combining facility-level chillers, heat rejection, liquid distribution, and controls with LiquidStack’s chip-level innovations. Holly Paeper, President of Commercial HVAC Americas at Trane Technologies, explained that data centers now demand adaptive solutions that scale across workloads and power densities.
“LiquidStack’s direct-to-chip and immersion cooling, combined with Trane’s global system expertise, allows us to deliver future-proof, integrated thermal management across the entire data center ecosystem,” Paeper said.
Global Operations and Leadership Remain Intact
LiquidStack’s global team, including R&D and manufacturing operations in Texas and Hong Kong, will continue under Trane’s Commercial HVAC Americas business unit. CEO Joe Capes will remain at the helm, driving innovation in sustainable liquid-cooling technologies while leveraging Trane’s scale to accelerate adoption in hyperscale and AI environments.
“Joining Trane Technologies amplifies our mission to innovate advanced, energy-efficient cooling solutions,” Capes noted. “It positions us to support next-generation AI workloads with unmatched scale and global reach.”
Strategic Timing for Market Expansion
Trane expects the LiquidStack acquisition to close in early 2026, following its recent Stellar Energy acquisition scheduled for Q1 2026. Together, these moves underscore Trane’s ambition to become a leading provider of integrated, sustainable, and high-performance cooling for the rapidly evolving data center ecosystem. In addition, they signal a clear commitment to addressing the growing thermal demands of AI and hyperscale compute infrastructures worldwide.
