Apply chip cooling directly to Samsong data center
Compared to next-generation GPU ‘Vera Rubin’ operation
GPU high integration with existing air cooling limit
NaverCloud by next year
ėŽė§ íë A conceptual diagram of liquid cooling infrastructure in AI-generated data centers. LG CNS
LG CNS is going to build a liquid cooling infrastructure at Samsong Data Center ahead of the introduction of Nvidia’s next-generation graphics processing unit (GPU) “Vera Rubin.” As power consumption and heat generation increase rapidly due to improved performance of GPUs for artificial intelligence (AI), it is difficult to cool only with existing air-cooling methods, so it plans to respond by supplying cooling water directly to GPU chips.
LG CNS announced on the 26th that it will cooperate with NAVER Cloud to apply direct chip cooling (DTC) method directly to Samsong data center. LG CNS is in charge of consignment operation of Samsong Data Center and has signed a colocation contract with NAVER Cloud.
DTC is a technology that directly absorbs heat generated from the chip by attaching a cold plate, which is a cooling plate, to the GPU and circulating cooling water inside. In this process, the cooling water distribution device (CDU) is responsible for supplying and circulating cooling water to the server.
The liquid cooling infrastructure will be built for NAVER Cloud to operate Nvidia Vera Rubin, owned by the Information and Communication Industry Promotion Agency under the Ministry of Science and ICT. Vera Rubin is a next-generation GPU that is expected to have about 3.3 times higher inference performance than the existing “Blackwell Ultra.”
As GPU performance increases, the cooling method of the data center is also changing. The cooling capacity that the conventional air-cooling method can handle is generally around 20-30 kW per rack. On the other hand, the power density of server racks integrating high-performance GPUs is increasing to more than 200 kW. This is why the limit is growing only with the existing method of cooling the server using air.
LG Group affiliates are also expanding their businesses in the field of AI data center thermal management and power infrastructure under the ‘One LG’ trend. LG Electronics acquired the final quality certification for its 600kW CDU from Nvidia last month. However, the liquid cooling infrastructure to be built at the Samsong data center is a project prepared by LG CNS before, and LG Electronics’ CDU is not applied to the Samsong data center.
Instead, data center-related products of LG affiliates, such as LG Electronics’ refrigerator and LG Energy Solution’s batteries, will be applied to Samsong data center. LG CNS is in charge of data center design, construction, and operation (DBO) and constructs power and cooling infrastructure using products and technologies of affiliates.
LG CNS plans to build Samsong Data Center with a total power reception capacity of 80MW as the nation’s largest AI factory base. Based on data center design, construction, and operation (DBO) capabilities, it will integrate and implement DTC liquid cooling to GPU server operating environment, power supply system, and AI platform operating base.
NAVER Cloud provides AI services to public institutions and companies by utilizing its experience in operating large-scale GPUs and AI platforms. The two companies plan to complete the construction and demonstration of liquid cooling infrastructure by next year.
“Data center cooling technology is becoming a key competitive edge in AI service quality and operational efficiency,” said Cho Hun-hyuk, head of LG CNS data center business. “We will build an infrastructure that supports the AI ecosystem in Korea based on data center DBO capabilities and next-generation cooling technologies.”