Not All Cooling Is Created Equal: How New Data Centers Use Far Less Water

Data centers built a reputation for draining millions of gallons of drinking water through evaporative cooling towers. That reputation is now a generation behind the technology.

The newest facilities use closed-loop and liquid cooling — sealed systems that circulate coolant continuously instead of evaporating water away. According to the World Economic Forum, advanced liquid immersion cooling can reduce water consumption by as much as 91% and energy use by roughly half compared with conventional air cooling. Industry reporting shows major operators going further still: Microsoft has committed all new designs to zero-water cooling, with closed-loop systems that, once filled at construction, require no ongoing water input — saving an estimated 125+ million liters of water per facility each year.

These aren't pilot concepts. Operators are opening full campuses designed to consume zero water for cooling while hitting some of the most efficient power-usage ratios in the industry.

This is exactly the category of cooling that defines a responsible modern campus: drastically reduced water demand, and — where water is used — drawing from non-potable or recycled sources rather than competing with the community's drinking supply.

Sources

• World Economic Forum — What new water circularity can look like for data centres: https://www.weforum.org/stories/2025/11/data-centres-and-water-circularity/

• Data Centre Magazine — How Closed-Loop Cooling Is Reshaping Data Centre Design: https://datacentremagazine.com/news/how-closed-loop-cooling-is-reshaping-data-centre-design

• Data Center Frontier — Liquid Cooling Comes to a Boil (2025 Midpoint): https://www.datacenterfrontier.com/cooling/article/55292167/liquid-cooling-comes-to-a-boil-tracking-data-center-investment-innovation-and-infrastructure-at-the-2025-midpoint