Sustainability, efficiency and reliability at the heart of the energy transition for data centers

Daikin will participate, as a sponsor, in the Mediterranean Data Center Forum, scheduled for March 27 in Bari. During the panel discussion “Data centers facing the challenge of sustainability and the energy transition: tools and technical solutions”, Francesco Di Giovanni, Product & Application Engineering Manager, will share Daikin’s vision and experience on the main challenges that are transforming the sector, with a particular focus on energy efficiency and technological innovation.

The evolution of the market, driven by digitalization and the acceleration of AI applications, now requires a profound rethinking of cooling architectures, with an increasingly delicate balance between energy efficiency, operational reliability and environmental sustainability.

This is a commitment Daikin is pursuing through technologies and solutions designed to meet these new needs.

Daikin is keeping pace with this evolution and offers cutting-edge solutions: visit our page to discover all the available Data Center solutions.

1. Daikin for the Data Center sector

Daikin is one of the leading global groups in the HVAC&R sector, with a presence in over 170 countries and strong vertical integration that includes the development of compressors, inverters and proprietary technologies. In Europe, Daikin Applied Europe serves as the competence centre for the design and production of chillers, heat pumps and advanced solutions for mission‑critical applications.

This know‑how translates every day into successful projects developed together with our partners and customers. Discover the Data Center projects that make a difference.

Within the organization, a dedicated team focuses on data center projects, overseeing the entire cycle: from system design and solution selection, to engineering support, all the way to commercial management and technical coordination of complex projects together with local sales affiliates in each country.

This structure enables Daikin to manage large‑scale installations, such as the recent project completed in Norway for a hyperscale data center, which included 71 free‑cooling chillers and 330 fan wall units, for a total installed cooling capacity of 115 MW. The project required careful integration of energy performance and reliability under severe climatic conditions, demonstrating Daikin’s capability to operate as a technological partner in highly complex environments

2. The challenges of the sector: sustainability and reliability

The data center sector is undergoing a phase of structural transformation. The increase in power densities, driven by AI and HPC, requires increasingly high‑performance cooling solutions. At the same time, sustainability has become an essential requirement, no longer just a strategic choice.

The recast of the Energy Efficiency Directive (EU) 2023/1791 introduces reporting obligations for data centers with IT loads above 500 kW, requiring transparency on energy consumption, PUE, the use of renewable energy, and heat recovery. Although it does not yet impose binding PUE targets at the European level, the directive marks a step forward in regulatory development.

In some countries, such as Germany, the framework is even stricter. The German Energy Efficiency Act (EnEfG) sets progressive PUE targets for new facilities and increasing obligations for waste‑heat reuse, reaching up to 30% in the coming years. These requirements are already having a concrete impact on design choices.

Reducing energy consumption is therefore not only an environmental goal but also a technical necessity. In this context, new architectures are emerging, such as direct‑to‑chip liquid cooling, which enables the management of high thermal loads more efficiently than traditional air‑based systems. In parallel, heat recovery systems are becoming a key element to enhance waste heat and integrate it into district heating networks or industrial processes.

Explore our advanced heat recovery solutions for Daikin chillers.

3. Daikin as a reliable technology partner

In this context, Daikin positions itself as a technological partner capable of supporting any type of data center project, ensuring maximum efficiency and operational reliability.

A significant example is the VZ series, designed to meet high‑temperature requirements. VZ units can supply hot water up to 90°C, making them particularly suitable for projects involving heat recovery. At the same time, they allow evaporator‑side leaving water temperatures up to 45°C, making them compatible with high‑performance liquid cooling architectures.

Learn more about the VZ Series: optimized performance for high‑temperature applications.

On the Cooling Distribution Unit (CDU) front, Daikin offers a high degree of design flexibility. The company can support direct‑to‑chip solutions with both positive‑pressure and negative‑pressure systems. In the latter category falls the technology developed by Chilldyne, part of the Daikin group, based on a vacuum approach that eliminates the risk of harmful leaks. In a negative‑pressure system, in the event of a rupture or disconnection, air enters the circuit instead of liquid escaping, preventing hardware damage and reducing the risk of downtime. This approach provides advantages in terms of reliability, ease of installation and maintenance, as well as improved operational control. For operators and consultants, this means being able to adopt liquid cooling solutions with a higher level of resilience—an essential factor in mission‑critical environments.

4. The Daikin portfolio for data centers

The Daikin portfolio for the data center sector includes:

• High‑efficiency air‑to‑water chillers for hyperscale and colocation applications, also available in free‑cooling configurations
• VZ series units for high‑temperature applications and heat recovery
• CDUs for liquid cooling architectures, both positive‑pressure and negative‑pressure
• Advanced control systems (iDCM) for continuous performance monitoring and optimization

Thanks to the combination of proprietary technologies, engineering expertise, and a European manufacturing presence, Daikin is able to support customers from the concept phase through commissioning and post‑sales support.