Keppel and Shell Singapore Pte. Ltd. are the latest partnership to look toward immersion cooling liquids to combat the heat generated from high-density computing in data centers. The companies will team up to test Shell’s proprietary gas‑to‑liquids–(GTL)-based immersion cooling fluid in a pilot project expected to begin next month. The pilot project will last 6 months with Shell’s cooling liquid tested in one of Keppel’s operational data centers. According to Keppel, the companies are evaluating the feasibility of deploying such high-efficiency systems in Keppel’s future data centers.
Compared to traditional air cooling, Shell’s cooling liquid can cut energy use by up to 48%, boost computing performance by up to 40%, and reduce capital and operating expenditure up to 40%, according to the company.
“While our data centers are mostly designed for air cooling and non-immersion-based liquid-cooling operations, we expect the design adaptability of our data centers to also allow for the smooth deployment of this immersion cooling solution incorporating Shell’s GTL–based immersion cooling fluid, further bearing testament to our ability to meet the evolving needs of our customers for greener and more efficient digital infrastructure,” said Wong Wai Meng, CEO of Keppel’s data centers.
Singapore and other tropical countries consume higher levels of energy and water when using air cooling, potentially making immersion cooling more beneficial for the companies and the environment.
Global Data Center Growth
Looking toward immersion cooling is particularly important as data centers are on the rise across the globe. In 2025, the US had 5,427 data centers, more than 10 times more than any other country, as reported by Stanford University.
JLL reported in its 2026 Global Data Center Outlook that the US is also projected to have the fastest growth rate of the three global regions with a predicted 17% supply compound annual growth rate (CAGR) followed by Asia Pacific (APAC) with 12%, and Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) with 10%.
As the number of data centers rise, so does the electricity consumption—further reinforcing the need for more sustainable cooling solutions. Stanford University forecast that data center energy consumption is projected to rise through 2030 with the US accounting for the largest share followed by China, Europe, and the rest of Asia.
Omdia research forecasts the global data center liquid-cooling market is expected to reach $16.8 billion by 2028, with annual growth exceeding 18%.
Energy Companies Drive Momemtum in Immersion Liquid Cooling
Keppel and Shell join a growing list of energy companies tapping into immersion liquid cooling.
In 2024, ExxonMobil and Intel unveiled a new system design concept that has successfully overcome the current limitations of single-phase immersion cooling efficiency. Intel developed a new tank design running off ExxonMobil’s immersion cooling fluid which the companies said will “ … substantially reduce energy consumption based upon trials by leading server-provider H3C.”
The new tank design supports cooling for chips rated above 800 W, and potentially over 1 kW, compared with the 300–350-W limit of hydrocarbon-based fluids previously used on Xeon processors.
In February, ExxonMobil partnered with Infosys to develop and deploy ExxonMobil’s suite of data center immersion fluids in two of Infosys’ service platforms—Infosys Topaz, which focuses on real-time AI-driven optimization, and Infosys Cobalt, which focuses on secure, scalable cloud deployment.
“This collaboration has the potential to deliver measurable outcomes by reducing data center energy costs and carbon emissions, while empowering enterprises to scale responsibly and meet the demands of an AI-powered future,” said Ashiss Kumar Dash, Infosys EVP and global head of services, utilities, resources, energy, and enterprise sustainability.
TotalEnergies has developed DC Cooling BioLife, manufactured from 100% traceable feedstocks, to cool IT components and help extend their lifespan. In 2024, TotalEnergies joined GRC’s ElectroSafe Fluid Partner Program, a platform for advancing single-phase immersion cooling fluids.
“Our DC Cooling BioLife is the first biosourced, biodegradable, and high-performance dielectric fluid specifically designed for immersion cooling. It exhibits one of the lowest viscosities in the market and fully contributes to our ambition of commercializing 30% low-carbon solvents by 2030,” said Dominique Vincent, TotalEnergies VP special fluids.
Petronas launched its version of immersion cooling fluids known as the Iona Tera, a suite of thermal intelligent fluids that are compatible with a wide range of hardware, such as CPUs and GPUs with high heat output, data center servers, EDGE, HPC, and blockchain operations. The company states its line of cooling fluids can achieve up to a 40% improvement in power usage effectiveness.
Energy companies aren’t the only ones looking to immersion cooling. Castrol, an industrial and automotive lubricant company, has developed a range of liquid cooling solutions for both primary cooling approaches: immersion and direct liquid cooling.
The company partnered with The Research Institute of Sweden and the Open Compute Project Foundation to optimize its testing and understanding of immersion cooling fluids.
In 2025, Castrol released an industry report, The Dipping Point, which surveyed 600 data center industry leaders, consisting of 510 data center experts across mid-market and enterprise organizations and 90 chip manufacturers. The survey found that 36% of the experts considered switching their primary system to immersion cooling before 2025. Additionally, nine out of 10 are thinking about switching to immersion cooling as a primary system between now and 2030.
“The data center industry needs to change its approach to temperature control, embracing new scalable, energy-efficient, compact, and cost-effective solutions,” said Peter Huang, Global VP - data center, thermal management, Castrol.
