Summary of Liquid Cooling Industry Conference Call Industry Overview - The liquid cooling industry is evolving from air cooling to unidirectional cold plates, then to silent and bidirectional cold plates, with the latter competing with unidirectional silent systems [1][6][20] - NVIDIA is driving the development of bidirectional cold plates to meet the high power demands of AI servers and is exploring a bidirectional cold plate with a local silent solution to reduce costs and address high heat flux issues [1][10] Key Cooling Technologies - The main cooling methods in the liquid cooling industry include unidirectional cold plates, bidirectional cold plates, and silent liquid cooling [2][20] - Unidirectional cold plates are easy to retrofit onto existing air cooling systems, using water and ethylene glycol, but have leakage risks due to conductivity issues [2][4] - Silent liquid cooling operates within a power range of 44 kW to 100 kW, using mineral oil, silicone oil, or fluorinated liquids, with full fluorinated ethers being the best-performing but most expensive option [2][4][24] Market Dynamics - After 3M exited the market in 2022, domestic manufacturers like Noah, Yonghe, Yongtai, Sinochem Blue Sky, and Juhua are actively replacing them, with Noah excelling in the trifluorinated ether sector [1][21][22] - The market for semiconductor cooling liquids is competitive, with companies like New Doubao and Juhua making significant strides in mainstream wafer fabs [25][27] Cost and Investment Insights - Initial investment costs for unidirectional cold plate systems are low (<3% of total system cost), but long-term maintenance costs can rise to 7%-8% [1][14] - The cost structure varies significantly based on the cooling medium used, with mineral oil costing <10%, silicone oil >10%, and high-end incubation liquids reaching up to 40% of system costs [1][14][15] Competitive Landscape - Major players in the liquid cooling market include Noah, Yonghe, Yongtai, Sinochem Blue Sky, and Juhua, with Noah being the standout performer [22][23] - New Doubao's full fluorinated ether products are being used in large-scale applications, particularly with Samsung [27][28] Future Trends - The future of domestic alternatives depends on their ability to consistently meet the demands of large manufacturers, with the next one to two years being critical for market performance [28] - Innovations in cooling technologies, such as bidirectional cold plates and local silent solutions, are expected to enhance overall efficiency and reduce maintenance challenges [12][20] Conclusion - The liquid cooling industry is experiencing rapid growth driven by AI and cooling technology advancements, with significant interest from major tech companies [20] - The exit of 3M has opened opportunities for domestic players to fill the gap, leading to a competitive and evolving market landscape [21][22]