Motivair by Schneider Electric Introduces 2.5MW CDU to Meet Cooling Demands of AI-Driven Data Centers!
Motivair, a part of Schneider Electric, has launched its highest-capacity Coolant Distribution Unit (CDU) to date, designed specifically for the extreme thermal loads created by next-generation artificial intelligence and high-performance computing environments. The new 2.5MW system, branded as the MCDU-70, has been developed to support the rapid expansion of GPU-intensive workloads and large-scale AI Factory deployments, where reliability, scalability and consistent cooling performance are becoming mission-critical requirements.
As AI models grow in size and complexity, data center power densities are increasing sharply, placing unprecedented strain on traditional air-cooling approaches. Motivair’s MCDU-70 addresses this shift by enabling high-efficiency liquid cooling at scale, helping operators maintain stable thermal conditions even in ultra-dense compute environments. According to the company, the system is engineered for centralized cooling architectures and can be deployed alongside Schneider Electric’s EcoStruxure platform, allowing operators to monitor, manage and optimise cooling operations through software while planning for future expansion.
With a per-unit capacity of 2.5MW, the MCDU-70 is positioned to align with emerging AI infrastructure designs that use 10MW building blocks as a foundation for future gigawatt-scale data center campuses. In practical terms, six units can be deployed in a 4+2 redundancy configuration, ensuring resilience and uptime while delivering the cooling capacity required for high-density racks. The design focuses on maintaining consistent flow rates and facility pressure, even as power densities rise, which is essential for stable GPU and accelerator performance.
Rich Whitmore, CEO and President of Motivair by Schneider Electric, said the pace of AI compute evolution is forcing a parallel transformation in data center infrastructure. He noted that operators increasingly need cooling platforms that are not only efficient and dependable today, but also capable of scaling in line with future chip roadmaps and AI Factory concepts. The MCDU-70, he said, reflects Motivair’s platform-based approach to liquid cooling, enabling customers to grow capacity without re-architecting their facilities.
From a broader infrastructure perspective, Schneider Electric highlighted that AI-led growth is reshaping how power and cooling systems are designed and integrated. Venkataraman Swaminathan, Vice President – Secure Power, Greater India at Schneider Electric, said that as digital infrastructure becomes more complex and energy-intensive, scalable and energy-efficient cooling solutions will be central to achieving both performance and sustainability objectives.
With the introduction of the MCDU-70, Schneider Electric’s liquid cooling portfolio now spans systems from 105kW up to 2.5MW, offering modular deployment options across a wide range of data center sizes and use cases. The new CDU is available for global ordering, with manufacturing supported through Schneider Electric’s facilities in North America, Europe and Asia. Together, Motivair and Schneider Electric aim to provide end-to-end liquid cooling solutions that support the next phase of AI and high-performance computing growth, from chip-level thermal management to facility-wide cooling infrastructure.
