民生证券：看好AI发展加速液冷技术渗透 数据中心液冷产业链将迎来“黄金时代”

Core Viewpoint - The main contradiction in current AI development is "power," with high power consumption leading to heat issues that restrict chip performance. Liquid cooling technology is seen as a key solution to this problem, and the industry is expected to enter a "golden age" for liquid cooling in data centers as AI development accelerates [1] Group 1: Market Dynamics - The liquid cooling sector has recently become a market focus, driven by various marginal changes and the acceleration of industry implementation. The company emphasizes that "speed" and "power" are the two core contradictions in AI development, with liquid cooling being the key to resolving power density issues [1] - The year 2025 is anticipated to be a breakthrough year for liquid cooling technology, marking a transition from 0 to 1, with industry trends and technological upgrades positioning liquid cooling as the next battleground for AI industry upgrades [1] Group 2: Performance and Demand - Vertiv, a leading overseas liquid cooling company, reported Q2 2025 revenue of $2.638 billion, exceeding guidance, and raised multiple forecasts for fiscal year 2025, indicating strong demand for liquid cooling solutions [2] - Recent advancements include the commercial launch of the GB300NVL72 platform, which features a fully liquid-cooled rack design, and the application of liquid cooling in switches and other areas [2] Group 3: Underlying Logic - The rapid iteration of computing chips has led to significant increases in power consumption, with single cabinet power density rising due to multi-card interconnectivity. For instance, the NVIDIA GB200NVL72 cabinet has a power capacity of 140KW, while Huawei's CM384 super node approaches 500KW, necessitating liquid cooling solutions [3] - Various countries and international organizations have implemented strict policies regarding power usage effectiveness (PUE), with liquid cooling effectively reducing energy consumption in cooling systems and aiding in meeting PUE standards [3] Group 4: Supply Chain Insights - The liquid cooling data center supply chain consists of upstream components, midstream servers and infrastructure, and downstream users. Companies offering comprehensive system solutions are expected to be more competitive in the future [4] - Key components in liquid cooling include cold plates and UQD, with cold plates being critical due to their high material costs and complex processing. The usage of UQD in the GB300 has significantly increased compared to the GB200 [4] - The year 2025 is seen as a crucial certification period for the industry chain, with ongoing attention to sample submissions, testing, and order placements from relevant manufacturers [4]