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AI‑Driven Data Centers: Daikin’s Response at Datacloud 2026

Written by Giulia | Apr 23, 2026 6:15:00 AM

Daikin will be at the Datacloud Global Congress 2026, taking place in Cannes from 2 to 4 June, one of the most influential global events for the data center industry. The congress brings together industry leaders and innovators to discuss how data centers are evolving to meet new challenges driven by AI, sustainability and rapid digital growth. During the event, Daikin will actively contribute to conversations shaping the future of data centers, highlighting its role as a trusted technology partner capable of supporting scalable, efficient and futureready infrastructure. Visitors will also be able to meet Daikins specialist teams at the stand and explore the companys knowhow through immersive virtual reality experiences. Through dedicated VR tours, attendees can step inside Daikin’s manufacturing facilities and experience a virtual data center environment, seeing firsthand how advanced cooling technologies perform in realworld applications. A unique opportunity to discover how Daikin supports data center innovationtoday and for the future.

 

EnergyEfficient Cooling Strategies for Sustainable Data Centre Growth

As data centers continue to grow to meet the demands of digitalisation and AIdriven workloads, operators are under increasing pressure to scale capacity while meeting strict sustainability targets and regulatory requirements. These challenges will be at the heart of the panel discussion How is European regulation going to affect data centre efficiency, taking place on Tuesday, 2 June 2026, from 13:05 to 13:50, during Datacloud Global Congress.

Francesco Di Giovanni, Product & Application Engineering Manager at Daikin Applied, will join the panel to share Daikin’s perspective on how evolving European regulations are influencing technology choices and cooling strategies across the data center sector. Across Europe, regulatory frameworks are setting ever more ambitious goals for energy performance, including tighter PUE thresholds and growing expectations around heat recovery. As a result, selecting the right cooling architecture from the earliest design stages is becoming essential—not only for operational efficiency, but also to ensure longterm regulatory compliance.

To address these challenges, Daikin offers a comprehensive and flexible portfolio of cooling solutions, supporting both newbuild projects and data center refurbishments. From traditional airbased cooling in data halls to nextgeneration liquid cooling architectures, Daikin technologies are designed to adapt to a wide range of applications and performance requirements.

The portfolio includes AirtoWater Free Cooling Chillers, , such as the EWFHTZ series, engineered to operate reliably from 20°C to +55°C, maximising free cooling potential to reduce energy consumption and mechanical load. With capacities ranging from 183 to 2154 kW, multiple compressor technologies and glycolfree configurations, these units deliver outstanding partload efficiency while lowering maintenance requirements. For highdensity and futureready applications, watercooled solutions like the VZ series are engineered to operate at evaporator leaving water temperatures up to +45°C, making them particularly wellsuited for modern liquidcooled data centers.

Read the full article to learn how to choose the right air‑cooled chiller for your data centre—and why Daikin’s solutions deliver superior performance.

At the system level, Daikin supports intelligent operation through the Intelligent Data Centre Manager (iDCM), an AIdriven control platform that continuously monitors and optimises chiller performance. This enables predictive management, improved reliability and higher efficiency throughout the system lifecycle.

Learn how iDCM can optimise chiller performance and improve data centre efficiency.

For data hall cooling, Daikin offers a range of air-handling and CRAH solutions designed for adaptability and resilience. Pro-W Fan Array Units offer scalable cooling capacities from 175 to 500 kW, while Pro C CRAH units, with capacities from 30 to 210 kW, combine optimised aerodynamics and advanced controls to deliver high performance and seamless integration into various layouts and redundancy schemes.

Discover how Pro‑C CRAH units deliver optimised airflow, advanced control and scalable performance for every data centre configuration.

Looking at the broader cooling strategy? Explore our complete guide to selecting Air Handling Units for data centres and design efficient, resilient data hall cooling systems. Beyond equipment, Daikin supports longterm performance through customisable aftersales services, including preventive and corrective maintenance programmes and realtime remote monitoring.

Find out how the right aftersales services can protect performance, efficiency and reliability throughout your data centres lifecycle. Read our guide on how to evaluate and choose the most effective aftersales services for your data centre.

For added flexibility, rental cooling solutions provide temporary capacity or redundancy during upgrades, emergencies or seasonal peaks, helping ensure business continuity at all times. Together, these technologies and services allow Daikin to deliver endtoend cooling solutions tailored to the evolving needs of modern data centerscombining efficiency, reliability and future readiness at every stage.

Looking for the right cooling solutions for your data centre? Download Daikin’s product portfolio brochure and discover our complete, future‑ready offering.

 

Water and Resource Challenges in AIDriven Data Centres: Strategies for Sustainability

The rapid rise in power density driven by AI and highperformance computing is reshaping how data centers think about efficiencynot only in terms of energy, but also in how critical resources like water are used. These challenges will be explored during the panel Water resilience through digital innovation, taking place on Tuesday, 2 June 2026, from 14:40 to 15:25, at Datacloud Global Congress.

As data center architectures evolve, liquid cooling is emerging as a cornerstone of futureready design. Thanks to its superior heat transfer capabilities and ability to operate at higher temperatures, liquid cooling helps operators manage growing thermal loads more effectively. This is particularly important for AI training clusters and highdensity applications, where traditional cooling approaches can struggle. At the same time, liquid cooling enables more waterefficient system designs, reducing reliance on waterintensive solutions while lowering overall energy consumption.

Within this landscape, Daikin acts as a systemlevel enabler, combining highefficiency technologies such as the VZ chiller series with advanced solutions for liquidcooled environments, including the Coolant Distribution Unit (CDU). This integrated approach delivers the performance, flexibility and scalability required to support a wide range of data center configurationstoday and in the future.

Beyond efficiency gains, the evolution of cooling technologies is also unlocking new opportunities to integrate data centers into broader energy ecosystems. Heat reuse is becoming an increasingly important strategy, enabling waste heat recovery and repurposing for district heating and other applications. With solutions capable of delivering hot water temperatures of up to +90°C, Daikin supports advanced heat recovery strategies that enable data centers to deliver tangible benefits for local communities—especially in regions facing growing resource constraints—while contributing to more resilient and sustainable energy systems.

 

How Engineering Expertise Builds Trust in MissionCritical Data Centres

As the data center industry continues to evolve, the ability to rely on experienced and specialised partners is becoming a true differentiator. Designing and operating efficient, resilient and futureready facilities requires more than technology aloneit calls for deep expertise and endtoend support. This is where Daikin plays a key role. Drawing on decades of experience in HVAC technologies, Daikin supports data center operators across the entire project lifecycle, from earlystage design and engineering to commissioning and longterm service. This approach is reinforced by a dedicated data center organisation and a strong European footprint, backed by advanced R&D and manufacturing capabilities. Over the past ten years, continuous investments exceeding EUR 30 million have strengthened Daikins ability to deliver reliable, highperformance solutions at scale. One of Daikin’s key strengths lies in its extensive testing and validation capabilities. Thanks to advanced factory acceptance testing facilities, systems can be fully validated before delivery, significantly reducing project risk and ensuring predictable onsite performance. These capabilities are reflected in largescale reference projects such as the OSLHamar data centre in Norway, where Daikin delivered a total installed cooling capacity of 115 MW. To meet the diverse needs of modern data centers, Daikin offers a comprehensive and flexible portfolio designed to ensure efficiency, scalability and longterm operational stability across facilities of all sizes and architectures.