Guotou Securities: Liquid cooling is the preferred choice for AI computing power heat dissipation. Pay attention to the relevant targets of increasing and decreasing materials and processes.

Guotou Securities released a research report stating that the rapid expansion of AI computing power is driving the continuous increase in power density in data centers, and liquid cooling is replacing air cooling as the preferred cooling system for data centers. The application of cold plate cooling solutions accounts for the largest proportion, with an increase in demand for high-value processing links such as liquid cooling plates and quick connectors, which poses higher requirements for the precision, efficiency, and stability of processing equipment. It is recommended to focus on related targets in the field of material reduction and additive manufacturing technology paths. Guotou Securities' main points are as follows: Liquid cooling has become the preferred solution for data center heat dissipation, and the market size is rapidly increasing Global data centers are entering a new round of infrastructure restructuring with AI at the core, and the continuous increase in power density of data centers places higher demands on heat dissipation solutions. Liquid cooling technology is gradually becoming the standard choice for the next generation of data centers. According to Omdia, the compound annual growth rate of global data center capital expenditure is expected to reach 13% from 2024 to 2030, including an investment growth rate of up to 18% in supporting systems such as cooling. The bank predicts that the global market size of liquid cooling systems for newly built data centers is expected to exceed $50 billion by 2030, with a compound annual growth rate of 22% from 2026 to 2030. Liquid cooling is expected to become a medium-high-speed market with high certainty on the infrastructure side of data center construction. High application proportion of cold plate solutions, liquid cooling plates and quick connectors drive the demand for machine tools and 3D printing processing Cold plate liquid cooling technology is mature and low in conversion cost, making it the most widely used cooling solution for data centers. Among them, cold plates and quick connectors are unique components of the secondary side of cold plate liquid cooling systems, with their value proportions in NVIDIA's GB300 cabinet cold plate liquid cooling system reaching 34% and 15%, respectively, according to Leapi Research Institute. The cold plates and quick connectors of high-power cabinets have high mechanical strength requirements, and high-precision CNC machining is the mainstream solution at present, with cold plates mainly involving CNC milling machines, drilling machines, threading machines, and milling machines, while quick connectors mainly involve longitudinal automatic lathes and drilling-boring-rivet composite processes. In addition, 3D printing can eliminate solder joints and physical gaps in cold plates, leading to a continuous increase in the proportion of 3D printing in liquid cooling plate processing schemes. Liquid cooling component manufacturers increase capital expenditure, driving demand for related processing equipment purchases Looking at the revenue performance and capital expenditure trends of industry leaders in the supply chain, driven by the high demand for high-density heat dissipation from AI computing power, the liquid cooling industry at home and abroad has entered a phase of high investment development, with the pace of capacity layout and technology development investment continuously accelerating. Leading domestic and foreign companies such as Cooler Master, Vertiv, Qihong, and Guangdong Shenling Environmental Systems continue to expand their production capacity. These companies are focusing on core components such as liquid cooling CDUs, heat dissipation plates, manifolds, and copper bars, filling key gaps in the industry chain's critical capacity. Liquid cooling core components have extremely high requirements for processing accuracy and process standards, and the concentration of leading companies expanding production will continue to drive demand for batch purchases of precision processing equipment. Risk warning: Industry development falls short of expectations; technological changes in the industry; intensified industry competition.